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Computer Christmas gifts:

Actimates Barney trades point and click for squeeze and speak

By Richard Morochove

First published December 11, 1997

What's purple and green with a squeeze and speak interface? Actimates Interactive Barney from Microsoft is the answer. It's one of my top recommendations on this year's list of computer-related gifts.

If there's a young Barney lover on your Christmas gift list, this cuddly dinosaur that interacts with your child, PC and TV will be a big hit.

Microsoft calls Actimates Barney an interactive companion, although he's really a simple computer designed for kids aged 2 to 5. However, this 16-inch plush toy version of the TV character doesn't look anything like a traditional PC.

You wake up Barney by squeezing his hand and he asks if you'd like to play a game. Squeeze a toe and he sings a song. Cover his eyes and he plays peek-a-boo. Through it all he displays lifelike arm and head movements.

The $150 toy has 2 MB of memory, which provides a 2,000-word vocabulary, 12 games and 17 songs.

Add-ons include a $79.95 PC Pack with Windows 95 software that features games developed by 7th Level Inc. and expands the vocabulary to 14,000 words. The pack comes with a plug-in radio transmitter that communicates with the receiver built-into Interactive Barney.

There's also a $79.95 TV Pack with specially encoded VHS videotape and a radio transmitter that plugs into the video-out jack of your VCR. When you play back the encoded tape, Interactive Barney's vocabulary expands to 4,000 words and he comments on the screen activity. Additional videotapes ($19.95) and software titles ($44.95) can be purchased separately.

I took Barney to my office Christmas party last week (he's a real party animal) and he attracted the attention of big kids who poked and prodded to hear what he'd say next.

Actimates Barney is an impressive accomplishment that I predict will enchant Barney fans.

Something that's not quite as much fun, but more educational, is Microsoft's My Personal Tutor ($69.95), a collection of 4 Windows 95 CDs aimed at children aged 3 to 7. The software helps improve early learning, math and reading skills.

Here are some computer gift suggestions for older kids and adults on your list.

If you know a computer user who hasn't mastered the art of touch typing, consider ViaVoice continuous speech dictation software for Windows 95/NT ($150) from IBM. ViaVoice is my top choice for software that lets the keyboard-challenged create text in a word processor just by speaking naturally into a microphone.

You can never be too rich or have too much disk storage capacity. If your giftee needs help with the former, write a cheque with a lot of zeros. If it's help with the latter, consider a portable Iomega Zip drive ($185) that easily plugs into a computer to expand storage. Each Zip disk ($20-$30) holds 100 megabytes of data, great for storing big graphics files or backing up little-used documents.

Even if you clean a computer mouse regularly, at some point its screen movements become erratic and it becomes difficult to use. If someone on your gift list hasn't replaced a mouse in a couple of years, chances are a new mouse would be appreciated. You can buy a standard mouse for about $10-$30, but here are some of the more innovative ones that offer extra features.

For the ultimate in freedom of movement, consider the cordless Mouseman Pro from Logitech ($110). Microsoft's IntelliMouse ($109) features a wheel that lets you scroll quickly through screens of many popular programs from Microsoft and others.

Philips SpeechMike ($199) is a unique multi-function device that includes a microphone with voice command and recording software along with a trackball and mouse control buttons. There are also extra buttons on the device to control voice recording and playback, so you can use your computer as a dictating machine.

Joysticks also get a lot of workout, particularly if your loved one plays arcade or flight simulator computer games. Buttons can stick and sticks lose their spring.

Basic joysticks cost about $15-$40. A better than average replacement is IBM's 4-button Joystick ($70), which is particularly rugged and well-made. With many games, the more buttons you have on the stick, the easier it is to access the game functions. The Firebird II joystick from Gravis ($115) comes with thirteen buttons.

Microsoft's SideWinder Force Feedback Pro ($209) senses your joystick moves and reacts with a force that depends upon the action in the game. It has its own 16-bit microprocessor in the stick to generate the force feedback, so the computer's processor can concentrate on creating the on-screen graphics. It comes complete with three games: Interstate '76, Star Wars Shadows of the Empire: Battle of Hoth and Mission Laguna Beach. CW

Richard Morochove, FCA, is a Toronto-based computer consultant.

Copyright ©1998 by Morochove & Associates Inc. All rights reserved. This work may not be copied or distributed by any means without our prior written permission.

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