Riven picks up where best-sellling myst left off
Article Abstract:
Red Orb Entertainment's approximately $50 Riven adventure game offers feature richer and more creative improvements over its predecessor, Myst. Riven includes enhanced landscapes, interiors and soundscapes, plus more animation. The new game spans five disks and demands a minimum 100MHz Pentium, running a Windows 95 with 16MB of RAM, 75MB of hard disk space and a 4X CD-ROM drive. Microsoft users must operate a minimum 90MHz PowerPC, 9MB of free RAM, 65MB of hard disk space and a 4X CD-ROM. By comparison, the 1993-released Myst required a 486 machine with 8MB of RAM, 3MB of hard disk space and a single-speed CD-ROM drive. Players can learn Riven without having mastered Myst, the best-selling standalone computer game ever. Riven's elegance includes impressive scene presentation and other inventive details. Drawbacks include manipulation of devices such as valves and overflow pipes, plus lack of a 'zip' mode that allows users to skip some intermediate steps.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1997
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Waiting for the big one at Demo 98. And waiting
Article Abstract:
Demo 98 offered no significant or interesting new computer products. The most attractive demonstrations consisted of creative computer interaction. Reality Fusion's charming Free Action technology was the most popular offering, with a video camera that allows users to display a live image of themselves and interact with other screen elements by merely 'touching' them. Fluent Speech Technologies' software tool kit directs real or synthesized speech to Baldy, a synthesized human face. Language students can study the positioning of lips and tongue as sounds are produced, while face disappears. Nuance Communications' speech-recognition software enables users to interact with computers over the telephone. Other advantages include recognizing individual voices for identification and security, as well as a brokerage system that relies on natural speech rather than a menu maze.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1998
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For specialty users, browser price may be right
Article Abstract:
Opera Software's Opera is a small Web browser that offers some interesting features but costs more than other products. The Windows-compatible share ware occupies a standard 1.44MB floppy disk with a remainder of more than 280KB, as well as code expansion to 1.8MB. By comparison, the smallest configuration of Microsoft's Internet Explorer requires a 13MB download and 56MB of disk space. A convenient button allows users to accelerate loading speed by eliminating graphics. Users also can control multiple windows by displaying them as tiled panels or overlapping them with title bars. Opera, Explorer and the Netscape Navigator took turns beating one another in Web page loading or display speed on a Pentium 90 machine that had a connection operating at approximately 48 Kbps. Opera costs $35 after a 30-day free trial.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1998
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