Interesting presentations abound. Among the unusual booths for a computer show was a different kind of scanner. Place a model of whatever you like in it and the scanner has a small needle (looked like a laser) hanging down that "feels" the model, sending data to the computer making a 3-D file to work with. It was fascinating. I used to work on a milling machine (called a Cincinnati Hydrotel) with an attachment very much like it, only much bigger, that was used to guide it when machining dies.

Next to the scanner was a very small computer-controlled milling machine that could use the file to actually machine a replica out of certain kinds of plastic. You could modify the size, or invert the model to make a cavity instead of the model. I thought those machines were amazing when I first saw them in the '50s hydraulically controlled, but things have changed for the better.

If your club has a good treasury, I saw a good investment for you. A flight simulator hydraulically controlled that you could install in a mall and sell rides in it. Only $86,000 and the CEO said it could make you $100,000 a year. I wonder if he was prejudiced when he said that, but I do have his name.

Animation products were shown where a person wears a suit with sensors all over it that transfers their movements to the actors on your computer screen. How about a CD duplicator for a mere $7,000 to make the backup of your CDs . . . well, perhaps that's overkill. I never did see the movie in the Silicon Graphics booth. It was a VERY large booth (one of the biggest there) and the line was all the way around it.

Siggraph was six days, but the exhibits only ran for three. Not long enough since the crowd was larger on the third day than on the first. I kept going all day and had to skim right along in order to see the whole show, stopping at very few booths to talk. I went back another day to browse some more. I highly recommend taking in Siggraph if you can one of these years. It's in LA next year. Actually, a number of booths did have animation software and other products that were affordable to you and I. For example, the show special on Calgari's "TrueSpace" was only $495.00 (Ahem) and the Hash Inc.'s "Animation Master" special was $175, but the expensive stuff was the most interesting to see.

My regrets for misleading you on the WordPerfect Magazine. When Abbey Bray e-mailed me about the correct information, I wish she, rather than my readers, could have told me the Magazine was going under. I hope nobody took a subscription as a result of my column and lost their money.

Another problem cropped up in last month's article. The web site for PC Mania's book store wasn't accessible. I forgot to check it before leaving town. After E-mail from a couple of readers I tried calling the store's phone number, with no answer. I wrote them and the guy called. Seems the Web site was a problem because of so many book titles and products, delaying its development. He said it should be up and running by September. It is . He couldn't understand why I didn't get an answer on 1- 877-4PC-BOOK (toll free), but it does work now. An alternate number is 1-212- 627-3171.

Don't forget the DeLorme offer expires Sept. 30, 1998. Call Delorme at 1-800- 452-5931 or 1-207-846-7000 and mention code LM 124. Website is . Also the Mijenix offer. Call Mijenix at 1-800-645- 3649 or 1-303-245-8000 to order and mention the column.

The $50 mail-in rebate on Micrografx Webtricity is no longer good. The coupon was only available at Webtricity presentations, and that tour is over.

I talked to Linda Nelson from Broderbund today and the expiration date for the special user group prices was extended to August 31, 1998. If someone in your user group didn't send for the order forms, better hurry and contact Linda right away. I would get new ones because I noticed two prices were improved. After August, the deal between the The Learning Company and Broderbund takes effect.

This is a slow deals month. Most of the vendors I contacted after PC Expo did not return my call, or are not interested in what I do. One offered to pay me for writing it up, but no special deals. He hung up when I said I didn't do the column for money and the column was only for special deals. At any rate, here are some bits and pieces I found interesting.

Free Radio Tuner

With it's own list of radio stations on your desktop, there is no need to browse the web, and your antenna is the Internet. Best of all, VTuner is FREE and essentially a live radio browser. You can search by location, language, format or key word. Listen to your radio and view streaming video broadcasts right from your own PC.

TUCOWS (a popular downloading website) gave it five cows and ZD Net included it as one of 50 Fab Internet downloads. Go to or to download it. I have not gotten mine up and running as yet, but have not had much time to see what's wrong.

IDT Centaur update

Senior Citizen Deals on Corel Products

Let's carry this discount one step further. Corel not only offers the academic discount to educators, but also to senior citizens 65 or older. I'm not sure if all "college computer stores" participate in that discount, but you can check it out if one is nearby.

If not, and perhaps easier, you can order Corel products at academic prices from Egghead's "Surplus Software" catalogue (1-800-753-7877). Their "qualifier" for academic prices includes senior citizens, hospitals, accredited schools, students, supervisory institutions, libraries, museums, nonprofit institutions (like my household) and correctional institutions. (Home is where I get corrected!)

Basically, qualified people must fax a letter with the name of the school or institution, and your name, to qualify for purchases. Seniors must fax a copy of their identification showing they are 65 or older to order. There are other products for educators, so call and get their catalogue. The rest of the catalogue used to be better before Egghead bought it. Be aware that academic software has no manuals, just the CDs.

Foreign language instructional CDs

Trying to learn a complete language would be murder. (How long did it take you to learn your own language?) But if you only have to learn enough to get by, you just might accomplish it. That's where these CDs come in.

"Talk Now" is a language learning product to teach English, Spanish, French or German suitable for teaching students of any age. A fast-paced vocabulary- building game with first words, phrases, food, numbers, time and shopping terms. A record option compares student and native speaker pronunciations. Quiz sections in varying degrees of difficulty. Normally $44.95, my column readers get it for $40.00.

"Word Action" is available in English, Spanish or French, and is an interactive language dictionary with video clips to teach hard-to-comprehend verbs such as "bounce" and "run." Build vocabulary using digital video, graphics and sound. Designed for FLES and beginning language speakers. Word Action is a 700-word multimedia graphic dictionary of common nouns, verbs, adjectives and prepositions. Graphics are full-color photographs and user- controlled digital videos. There's more. Normally $29.95, column readers get it for $26.95.

"Children's Classics" is a CD-ROM containing multi-lingual capabilities: French, Spanish and German. Enhance reading and listening, comprehension and vocabulary with classic fairy tale stories. Three per volume, multilingual format, in two modes: one where students listen to native speakers and one where students read the story and choose to record/play their voices. Built- in glossary plus writing activities. Exciting games with each story. Normally $19.95, you get it for $17.95.

I was a bit disappointed in the discounts, but actually, even the retail prices aren't bad. Shipping is $4.95 regardless of quantity. Gessler has other products and languages, but only the ones I have listed are available at discounted prices right now. Interested people should call 1-800-456-5825 to order or ask questions, and don't forget to mention the column.

That should do it for this month. You can reach me via my FAX 1-407-382-2781 or send e-mail to . Meet me here next month to see what else is new. Bob (The Cheapskate) Click.

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