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Compiled by Donna Tapellini
By Donna Tapellini
Have fun learning Spanish with Spanish Your Way 2.0: Every lesson has a game that lets you practice what you've learned. You'll find crossword puzzles, word games, grammar activities and cartoon panels. The program really gets you talking-out loud. Listen to a conversation, repeat each line into the provided microphone and play it back to hear how well you've learned your lesson. Use the verb conjugation guide to fine-tune your skills, look words up in the glossary and learn the rules of grammar, including proper usage of prepositions. Overall topics covered include dining out, social engagements and travel. Fantástico!
$125. Syracuse Language Systems, 800-797-5264, 315-449-4500.
By Elieen McCooey
Explore the wonders of cyberspace with Internet the City. This two-CD set provides a futuristic, 3-D city environment where you learn how to navigate the World Wide Web. It also has lessons on using e-mail, ftp, Usenet, gopher, telnet and IRC. Colorful tour guides add personality to the presentations, which include full-motion video and illuminating narration. Netscape Navigator comes with the program. This CD puts the fun in functional.
$44.95. Simply Interactive, 800-335-5327, 408-260-6500.
By Cheryl Dominianni
How good are you at wheeling and dealing? Find out with The Negotiator, a natural-language interactive software training CD-ROM. The program gives you a negotiating assignment and reference materials to peruse at your own pace. Then you are allowed 45 minutes to strike a deal. You receive an instant assessment of your approach and style, along with tips and techniques on how to hone your skills. Repeat sessions allow you to apply your new skills to improve your score. Principles learned here can be applied to any negotiation, from your toughest client to your spouse.
$44.95. McGraw-Hill, 800-722-4726, fax 614-755-5645.
By Jim Forbes
Had Mr. Blandings used Visual Home to build his dream house, he might have gotten it right the first time. This program helps you remodel and refurbish, or build from scratch. Use the Internet to download electronic catalogs containing models of furnishings and household appliances. The CD application itself contains more than 2,000 3-D models of furniture, appliances and wall coverings. Visual Home allows you to quickly design room layouts, floor plans, house designs and more.
$54.95. Books That Work, 800-242-4546, 415-326-4280
By Ian Etra
If you dream of huge inflated tires and splashing through mud, get a copy of Monster Truck Madness, the recent release from Terminal Reality and Microsoft. Drive living vehicular legends, such as BigFoot and Gravedigger, through extended road rallies, circuit races or stadium drag races. The courses lead you from checkpoint to checkpoint, but more direct routes involve jumping over half-built bridges and ramming through road signs. You'll bounce and slide through 3-D mud and wide bodies of water.
$44.95. Microsoft Corp., 800-426-9400, 206-882-8080.
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