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1992-06-20
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____________________________________________________________
VGA SPECTRUM
Reviewed by
Tony Thomas
____________________________________________________________
Trying out new CD-ROMs is always a treat. I find it interesting how
different CDR manufacturers organize the vast quantities of data
contained on each disc, what kind (if any) search engines are employed
and what kind of unique features can be found. Finally, there's the
"stuff": megabytes upon megabytes of data. Enough data to cram a few
dozen large hard drives. All on a tiny disc. Amazing.
One of my latest finds is VGA Spectrum, a public domain/shareware disc
containing an assortment of "stuff" for the graphics fanatic. There are
GIFs. Dozens and dozens of nice quality, high resolution GIFs. (Rated
G to PG) Then, there are games. An assortment of nice quality games.
There are Soundblaster and Ad Lib Files. And plenty of FLI and GRASP
animation files with viewers. There is a nice collection of clip art in
various formats, including PCX, TIFF, Wordperfect, MAC, First Publisher
and Printmaster. And finally, a great bunch of graphics utilities
including viewers, format converters and more.
Since there is no search/unzip engine, I recommend using Vern Buerg's
classic LIST program to navigate its files. The directory structure is
simple and unconvoluted, making it easy to find what you're looking for
in a jiffy (or is that GIFfy)? Plus, all compressed files are in PK's
self-extracting EXE format, making them easy to extract to your hard or
RAM disk without any fuss. I wish more CD-ROM companies would adopt
self-extracting file formats like PK and LHARC for data compression.
If you are into graphics or desktop publishing, I heartily recommend
this disc. When used with a program like Graphics Workshop, you'll have
an endless collection of clip art, without having to devote megabytes of
hard disk real estate. When used with programs like Compushow, VuImage,
Picem or VPic, you can create slide shows that last for hours without
buying a bank of hard disks to store your GIFs. If you're into games,
animation or sound files, you'll be glued to the computer for hours. At
about $40 at discount, VGA Spectrum is one of the best values you'll
find in CD-ROM graphics software. Five Stars. *****
--
aa699@Cleveland.Freenet.EDU/GEnie=A.THOMAS16/Compuserve:71541,3456
TONY THOMAS - SigOp - The Atari Portfolio SIG - Audio Arts SIG
"True riches is not what you have. It is what you ARE." - Tony Thomas