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FAQS! FACTS! FAX!
221 (20/07/00)
THE
GAME DOTCOM READERS PLAY…
A
couple of weeks ago we carried a plea from
pensioner Bill Miller, for problem-solving games that did not involve
bloodshed. Thanks for another tremendous response, here’s a very small
selection.
I seldom see anything that I can contribute to on
F!F!F!, however the request for suggestions for non-violent or non-replica
sports games did ring a bell. As a game playing 56-year old stripling can I
suggest the best game of all time - Myst by Broderbund. A close runner-up must
be the follow up from the same stable - Riven. The graphics are breathtaking in
Riven but the problem solving is somewhat easier.
Peter Griffiths
I find so-called 'adventure' games can be very entertaining without
resorting to blood and violence or sport. The best ones make you think without
being so hard that you end up giving up. My favourite game in this genre is
Grim Fandango by LucasArts. The Curse of Monkey Island 3 (also by LucasArts) is
very enjoyable as well. Monkey Island 1 & 2 are still very good
although the graphics are rather basic.
Seb
Pollard
I can recommend Amerzone from
Microids, The
7th Guest and its sequel The 11th Hour produced by Virgin. Also try Shivers -
another excellent game that I have not yet been able to solve - I go back to it
when I get time.
Pat White
I
would like to suggest Starship Titanic by
Douglas Adams author of ‘The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy'. Starship
Titanic is the most luxurious galactic cruiser ever built but it is out of
control with the main computer sabotaged. You have to get it back together
again and pilot the ship back to earth. There is no killing involved
and you never get killed, you tour round the ship with a bit of help from the
robots who will give you some hints if you get stuck.
Trevor
Wissen
I found a game called Pandora's Box by Microsoft,
which involves solving puzzles in locations all around the world. It has kept
me occupied for hours on end.
Christine Hurst
That little lot should keep Bill amused for a while… For
the record the clear winners amongst F!F!F readers (and Dotcom staff) were
Broderbund’s Myst and Riven.
BOXING
CLEVER
For
the past three weeks I have been trying to create a simple menu layout using Word. All I want is 3 columns on the page, is that too much to ask? It
seems so, because can I do it? No! I have tried everything from the Help menu
to the tab buttons to pushing every button on the toolbar, even the Column
button. That asks how many columns I'd like, I select 3, it's accepted, but
still I can't get to type in second column, let alone the third! Please, come to my rescue!
George Georgiou
The Column facility in Word 97/2000 is probably not the best option in your
case since it produces ‘linked’ newspaper-type columns where text flows
automatically from one to another. In order to get from the end of one
partially filled column to the next you would have to enter lots of carriage
returns, and changes to the text in column 1, say, would have an impact on the
layout in subsequent columns. The alternative is to design your own 3-column
layout from scratch. Change to Print Layout or Page Layout on the View menu and
then go to the Insert menu and select Text Box. Use the mouse to size and
position a column, then highlight the column, hold down the Ctrl key and drag
identical copies to the required positions on the page. These text boxes are
unconnected and any overflow copy can be ‘poured’ into another column by
clicking on the ‘chain link’ icon on the Text Box tool bar.
SCOTTISH
CLIPART AND FRENCH WEATHER…
As
a member of the local Caledonian Society I occasionally produce literature for
them, but find a dearth of commercial clipart with a Scottish flavour, e.g.
tartan borders, flags, thistles, kilted men etc. Can anyone point me in
the direction of suitable software please?
Alex B. Dobie
Is
there a website which will fully describe the winter climate of south-western
France, specifically the Carcassonne region?
Carrie
Wilson
Over
to you…
REMIND
ME AGAIN
Regarding
the query in F!F!F! for information on calendar and reminder software, have a
look at Oi! available from http://www.spto.demon.co.uk
.
Pat
O'Connor
Concerning
your advice to Judy Oliver (F!F!F July 6th) about shareware
organiser software. Windows 95 has a built-in reminder program. Use Windows
Explorer to open Windows 95, open the 'Tasks' folder and enter your
requirements. It will then pop-up on your screen and stay there until you
close the reminder. The only drawback is that there is no audible alert when it
appears. I use it daily to remind me that it's lunchtime.
Colin
Heaton
Thanks for those handy tips, though we have even simpler
ways to remind ourselves when it’s time for lunch… Incidentally Task Scheduler
is also in Windows 98 and another even quicker way to get to it is Start >
Programs > Accessories > System Tools and you can use it to start a
screensaver or a program that plays a jingle at start-up.
START ‘EM YOUNG
My
3-year old granddaughter is taking an interest in my computer and soI have bought a couple of programs for young children. The only problem is that her tiny hands have trouble guiding and clicking my mouse. Do you know of anyone who makes a small mouse for small hands?
John Palmer
A lot of children seem to get on quite well with
‘trackball’ type pointing devices (basically an upside down mouse). There are
lots of different designs available – most PC suppliers carry a selection – and
there are a number of really colourful models with extra large balls,
especially for kids. However, there’s nothing like starting them young and you
may be surprised how quickly your granddaughter can learn to use a normal
mouse, provided you slow the movement right down (Start > Settings >
Control Panel > Mouse > Motion tab), and it might be a good idea to
choose one of the bolder pointer designs (try Windows Standard Extra Large,
listed under Schemes on the Pointers tab in Mouse in Control Panel).
SHORT
AND SWEET
My
friend informed me that some time ago, you showed how to create a shortcut for emails frequently sent to the same address. I have followed his instructions, but after inserting "mailto etc" (without the inverted comma's) into the command line and then pressing next, a message appears
telling me that the file "mailto etc" cannot be found. Where am I
going wrong? I use Outlook Express and have Windows 98.
John Patten
From
the sound of it you left off the colon after mailto, start again thus:
right-click into empty area of the desktop, select New then Shortcut from the
drop-down menu, type ‘mailto:’ in the Command Line field or if you want to
create a shortcut to one specific person, add the recipient’s email address
after the colon, i.e. mailto:myfriendsname@freebie.com
click Next, give your shortcut a name and click Finish.
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