System Requirements: 80386 or higher, MPC compatible CD ROM drive, 2MB RAM, hard disk with 3MB available, VGA display with 256 colors or more, Windows 3.1 and Microsoft-compatible mouse ******************************************************
Ever had the desire to transform your computer into "a world of beauty, inspiration and accomplishment"? A tall order, to be sure, but that's what the Seize The Day (STD) Organizer promises to do. The designers of this software, who work out of a converted winery in California's Napa Valley, have infused a New Age sensibility into their product, combining tranquil animated visuals and comforting, insightful daily meditations with features including a calendar, address book, to-do lists, daily journals and personal diaries. Think of it as your basic planner, every landscape wall calendar you've ever seen, and every self-help book you've ever read all rolled into one. The folks at Seize The Day, Inc. are really not kidding when they call this package "software for the heart and mind."
The basic features included in the STD Organizer are as good as any standard planner. Calendars can be drawn by the day, week, weekend, month, or year, and you can create any number of lists or journals to suit your needs. STD includes an alarm feature with a sound option; the visual warning can be accompanied by the strains of Vivaldi, Jimmy Hendrix, T Rex, Gregorian chants, or any number of soothing instrumentals such as harp, mandolin or flute. These sounds, however, are just a slight indication of what sets this organizer apart from the rest.
There are two major elements in the STD Organizer--the Daybook and the Gallery. On the Daybook side of the screen, you're greeted each day with a few words of wisdom gleaned from various philosophers, writers, and other people who know the secrets of life.
The larger context of the quote and background on its author are available with a click. From there, you can open up all your calendars, lists and journals. Meanwhile, on the Gallery side, there are colorful "Living Worlds". These are a series of 12 landscape images, one for each month of the year, which include streams and waterfalls that actually flow, snow that falls, and even fireflies that flicker. The Living Worlds are tied to the computer's internal clock, so when it's night in your world, it's dark in Computerland too. STD has thoughtfully provided options for both the Gallery and Daybook. On the Gallery side, you can dump the Living Worlds for specialized series of paintings and photographs, while on the Daybook side you can get business tips, Bible notes, Native American lore and the like. These options are available at additional cost.
While the package does include a full-color catalog with the aforementioned options, there is no printed user's guide included. STD Inc. says it opted for an on-line manual in order to be environmentally correct--skipping the use of paper saves trees, but you can print it out for yourself. Ironically, the company did choose to employ what I consider to be excessive cardboard packaging for the STD Organizer, with a fold out front panel extolling the product's virtues. A few more warnings - the toll-free phone number listed on screen to register your copy has been disconnected, so it'll cost you to get the registration number that'll get you out of demo mode. You'll also need a 256 color driver to make this software run, as well as 8 free megabytes of hard drive. Once you get past these glitches, you'll find the Seize The Day Organizer easy to install, and both simple and fun to use.--Kim Silarski
