Cyber News and Reviews is a monthly column published since 1995 for parents, teachers and small business and home business owners offering articles on some of the best computer products available. I cover business software, education, entertainment with freeware and shareware, and some hardware too. Over the years, I've reviewed computer programs from Microsoft, Knowledge Adventure (Davidson) and others. When my kids were young, they couldn't wait for the software to arrive and have fun testing the games and lessons with me. And, in the past few years they've contributed some of their own reviews with opinions. The best advice on software is from the children who use it. Also, many of the business programs reviewed are useful for home business and small business owners.

My writing began in 1979 when I entered the world of personal computers. One of the very first computers was in kit form made by Motorola, with a tiny amount of memory. It used a teletype for typing and it printed the text. I belonged to the local computer group where we exchanged software, helped each other expand our computers and bought the new computers when they came out. I had them all: from the Apple II, Atari, Commodore 64, Radio Shack TRS-80 to the IBM PC desktops. Radio Shack and Sharp made the first portable and pocket computers. Eventually, all the computers came with a form of Microsoft Basic language that let you write your own programs. I started writing articles on beginning Basic programming for Byte Magazine, Kilobaud, Personal Computing and others. My articles evolved into two books on beginning Basic programs, first for the TRS-80 and Apple II, then later for the Atari, Commodore and IBM PC. To my delight, the books were used to help teach the Basic Language in elementary and high school computer classes from 1980 to 1986.--Howard Berenbon

Rosetta Stone Personal Edition Hebrew Level 1, 2 & 3 CD-ROM Set

By Becky Berenbon

Rosetta Stone, a language learning software, is definitely one of a kind. The software calls its system Dynamic Immersion™, which models the way you learned your first language as a young child. Through images, intuition, interactivity, instruction, and immersion, you can learn a new language. There is absolutely no memorizing involved. Hard to believe? I wanted to see this for myself, so I tried out the program. The installation process took about 10 minutes, including actual installation and set-up. Before getting started, the software builds your course based on what you want to learn. For example, I had already learned the Hebrew alphabet, so I chose not to focus on learning this.

Each language program is divided into levels, sold separately or in bundles. And levels expand on what was previously learned. Rosetta Stone has just recently updated some of their language programs, including Hebrew, adding a third level to the series.

Each level has units, focusing on topics like “Greetings and Introductions” or “Work and School.” The units contain four lessons. New vocabulary is introduced at the beginning of each lesson, and then worked with during each activity. Once you have finished a unit, you’ll do the milestone, testing out your new language skills in an everyday situation, like on a camping trip or a bus ride.

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We have been reviewing business software, education and entertainment software products since 1995 with the best and most popular software from major and minor manufacturers. All reviews are freely available and archived at our site, for kids, teachers and parents.

eMedia’s Piano and Keyboard Method V2.0 and Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro

eMedia’s Piano and Keyboard Method V2.0

By Becky Berenbon

I recently tried out eMedia’s Piano and Keyboard Method V2.0. It is very similar to its junior version, My Piano.

The installation was quick and simple. When you open up the program, it gives you an introduction with instructions for using the software.

This time, there was no talking piano, which can be somewhat of an annoyance for mature musicians. Without the help of the anthropomorphic instrument, it was still very easy to navigate the program. It gives you the option of skipping to different chapters or lessons: great for those who have some prior knowledge of playing piano. You’ll find over 300 lessons, developed by a former instructor from the Juilliard School of Music in New York.

The lessons are just like the ones in My Piano. It slowly introduces each basic part. First, there is a brief lesson on different types of pianos. After that, position is taught. Then, the black keys are introduced, and the player uses them for learning rhythm, the next important chunk. White keys are taught later. Throughout the chapters, you gradually learn the basics of music theory. Soon enough, you are playing songs with two hands.

The program includes videos (over 70) and comments relating to the lesson. Sliders let you change the tempo, or speed, of the song, and change the position in the song (kind of like the scroll wheel on an iPod).

From the very beginning, there are many songs, taking the place of boring exercises. Instead of games, there were quizzes to review each chapter. For example, do you know which note is higher: b or b flat?

A helpful function in the program is the looping feature. If there’s a tricky part in the music you want to practice over and over again, you can just highlight what you want to practice and you can hear it played as many times as you want.

The software also provides a metronome. You can record your music with the microphone (not included) and play it back. There are a myriad of adjustable settings to help you customize your experience. If you have a midi keyboard, you can connect it to the computer and get feedback on each song you play. It’s in very simple language, like “You held this note too long.”

I found that this program is a fun, easy way to learn piano.
eMedia’s Piano and Keyboard Method V2.0 is available for $59.95 for the PC or Mac. For more information, or to order, visit Amazon.com.

eMedia Music Corporation
664 NE Northlake Way
Seattle, WA 98105
Phone: 206-329-5657
URL: http://www.emediamusic.com

Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro from Adobe Systems Incorporated

By Howard Berenbon

Last month I did an in-depth review the beta version of Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro, the newest PDF file tool from Adobe Systems Inc. This month I received what Adobe calls their “shrink wrap” version of Acrobat 9 Pro, or their final retail boxed version. After a quick installation, I didn’t notice any difference between the beta version and the final release and so I stand by my previous comments and continue to recommend Adobe’s Acrobat software. If you have Acrobat 8, you’ll definitely want to upgrade to the new and improved Acrobat 9. If you’ve never used Adobe Acrobat (though I would find that hard to believe), you’ll want to because Acrobat is a great tool that allows you to view, print and create files for distribution in the PDF file format, between many different computers and operating systems.

Acrobat 9 offers many new features, but its most important improvement is the ability to combine all your separate files into one PDF file called a Portfolio. Version 9 allows you to combine documents, e-mail, images, spreadsheets, forms and video and audio into a single editable file. It also allows you to add Flash movies and videos, in a number of formats, to your PDF file. You can save a Web page in the PDF format and edit the contents without having the original file. With Acrobat 9 you’ll make that perfect presentation, and it’s easy to use. Acrobat offers more than just presentation abilities. It’s a business program great for writing proposals, marketing plans, technical documents, legal briefs, government intelligence briefs, digital archives, design reviews, business forms and more you can easily send out over the Internet. And for security, you can password protect your files. When you’re ready to distribute your work, just assemble your documents into a single PDF file, with all its elements, and send it over the Internet as an e-mail attachment.

Adobe Acrobat 9 standard sells for $279.99 and will run on any multi-media computer 1.3 GHz or faster processor running Windows XP and Vista with 256 MB RAM, 985 MB of hard disk space, 1,024x768 screen resolution and a CD-ROM drive and the Apple Macintosh. For more information, visit Amazon.com

Other versions include Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro for $499 and Adobe Acrobat 9 extended for $699. If you’re an educator or run a business, and publish or distribute materials: books, manuals, instructions sheets, advertising brochures, forms, and more, then Adobe Acrobat 9, either Standard, Pro or Pro Extended is a necessary tool for your trade. Acrobat 9 is one powerful multimedia publishing program with lots of applications, and I recommend it.

For New Features and What’s in Version 9

Acrobat’s features vary somewhat depending on the version. Adobe Reader 9, the free version, allows you to view, print and search PDF files the new Portfolios and PDF maps. The commercial versions allow you print and search PDF files and Portfolios and create documents you can save into a single file. For more details, including some history, some favored application tools, a complete list of features and a comparison chart click for our July 2008 article.

Adobe Systems Incorporated
345 Park Ave
San Jose, CA 95110-2704
URL http://www.adobe.com
800-833-6687