Writing tablet for Chinese characters (Computimes, 25/08/2003)

By Lee Chiew Lan

Product: PenPower HandWriter (V9 Wacom USB)
Manufacturer: PenPower Technology Ltd
Distributor: Quantum Optimum Sdb Bhd (Tel: 03-92827233, http://www.quantum-optimum.com)
Price: RM358

INPUTTING Chinese characters into a computer is not an easy task. You haveto know various inputting methods (such as pingyin and symbols) which areboth hard to learn and remember. However, with the PenPower HandWriter,this task is made easy.
You input Chinese by writing characters on a tablet with the digitalwireless pen, and the software will recognise your handwriting and inputthe corresponding Chinese characters into the computer.
The PenPower HandWriter comes with software that contains the AsianEdition feature, which is capable of recognising over 23,000 traditionalor simplified Chinese characters, 4,702 special Hong Kong characters,English letters, numbers, symbols, Japanese and Korean characters.
You can write anything continuously on the screen using the PenPowerFull Screen feature. It allows you to run various software applications atthe same time. Alternatively, you can choose between Hidden or Air Bubble Interface to hide the applications you are running. With hidden interfacefor example, advanced inline input and balloon user interface arecompletely hidden. The function windows will appear automatically when youneed it. However, since the HandWriter comes with a small input screen (measuring five inches by four inches), the number of characters you caninput is limited.
If you are wondering whether the software recognises Chinese inputwithout the correct stroke orders, the answer is yes. With the artificialintelligence recognition core, the software recognises flowing cursivestrokes without relying on stroke orders.
The system can automatically learn personal handwriting and become apersonalised handwriting system. Other than this, the software also comeswith many input-enhancing functions such as words by extension, relatedphrases, built-in vocabulary, precede-subsequence related phrases,homophone, and original handwriting display for result checking.
An interesting feature is the Web HandWriter, which enables users towrite and send e-mail directly to friends via the Internet. The tool consists of a general input area and four input boxes for block letters,small letters, numbers and symbols, and punctuation. You can even savecommonly used phrases/symbols in a folder for future use.
If you are sick of tapping on the interface, you can use the VoiceNavigator feature to launch applications such as Menu, Edit, Option, oreven surf the Internet. All you need to do is to set your commands one ata time and make sure you pronounce clearly, otherwise the software willnot be able to run your commands. You can even bookmark a home page with acommand. The Voice Navigator allows you to save up to 20 frequently-used Web sites.
It is said that by using the Sentence Recognition feature, the softwarecan recognise and read the scanned document sentence by sentence of up to 500 characters. What you need to do is to scan the document in image file,highlight the sentence you want the software to recognise/read, and thesoftware will start its job.
You have many options to choose from, be it from simplified totraditional Chinese or vice versa, mixed sentences (English and Chinese), or adjust image style and content (horizontal, vertical, backgroundcolour, rotate, etc). I found this feature useful for editing. However,when testing it with lyrics from a Chinese song, the software recognised only 50 per cent of the text.
I especially liked the PenPower Notepaper and PenPower Artist features.With the PenPower Notepaper, you can write a Post-It note in handwritingstyle, or drawings, or record a voice message, and save/send out via e-mail. More interestingly, you can also set the alarm to remind you of theimportant events.
The PenPower Artist offers over hundreds of letter paper and cardexamples for letter writing and designing of cards. These allow you tocreate your own cards or write some unique letters and send them directlyvia e-mail.
What's more, you can change your handwriting style to normal or printedstyle. As for me, I received some good comments from friends when I e-mailed them cards with my own handwriting.
You do not have to worry if the recipients of your Post-It note and/orletters/cards cannot view the documents you sent via e-mail, because theydo not need to have HandWriter software installed in their personalcomputer (PC), yet still can view them.
The PenPower HandWriter is a useful device for inputting Chinesecharacters. No battery or mouse is needed, and the device is very user-friendly. All you need is a PC with Windows 98/Me/2000/XP, Pentium orfaster, 64 megabytes (MB) of random access memory (RAM), 180MB free harddisk space, and a universal serial bus (USB) port.

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Experiencing `diva-licious' fun (Computimes, 25/11/2002)

By Lee Chiew Lan

Title: Diva Starz (CD-ROM) (For girls age six and up)
Publisher: Mattel Interactive
Enquiries: The Software Boutique(Tel: 03-7876 3818)
Price: RM109

ARE you thinking of a suitable game for your little girl this schoolholiday? Well, you may want to consider Diva Starz, a CD-ROM that extendsthe fun of interactive talking fashion dolls, providing a refreshingplaying experience with the computer.
Just hang out in the Diva Starz Mall where the Diva Starz - Alexa,Summer, Nikki and Tia - invite you to join them in some of their favouriteactivities. You will get to help them pick out nice outfits, try oninteresting hairstyles and mix up cool tunes. If you make the rightchoices, you'll earn tokens to play in the arcade, which in turn will earnyou credits to buy even more items to use with the Divas. You'll also havea chance to discover Super Secrets about each Diva Starz friend and winspecial gifts.
This game is very user-friendly. The first time you play the game,you'll be asked to enter your name. Once you've logged in, you'll be takento the Coffee Spot where the Divas are relaxing and chatting. Click on the Diva friend you would like to play with and choose a place to visit byclicking one of the three Spot icons at the top of the screen - the MusicSpot, Fashion Spot or Style Spot. These activities can be played in the Diva Challenge mode, where you can earn tokens for the arcade, or Free-style mode.
Diva Starz has a simple premise: The better you understand your Divapal, the more fun the two of you can have together. The key to eachchallenge and more tokens is using the selected Diva's personality toguide the choices you make.
Not all of the girls like rock music, long dresses or having their hairdown. To know the Divas' preferences, you can ask them questions by usingthe miniature chat interface and listen carefully to each Diva's responsesthat will yield clues to help you with the music mixer, fashion decisionsand hairstyle choices. Also, for the perfect suit you've chosen, you'llhear the phone ring and see the Star Communicator (located at the bottomright-hand corner of the screen) lighting up, indicating that your DivaStarz friends are calling you to say you've found the right solution.
After earning a handful of tokens, it's off to the arcade to try thegames that await you - Rollerz, an obstacle course; Power Purse, a simple"catch things as they fall" game; and Diva Starz Mark, a tic-tac-toe game.
With a range of activities intended to serve a variety of ages, DivaStarz's difficulty level is all over the map. Some of the challenges arefairly tough. For example, I found the Music Spot challenge tough as Itried hard to mix tunes by separating the instruments, beats, melodies andsound effects.
Or choosing the right music styles (rock, rap, smooth or dance) as Istill failed to please Tia and Nikki after putting much effort. (I onlymanaged to earn two tokens instead of four.) In contrast, the arcade gamesare extremely simple; one of them is Rollerz, where I was rewarded with100 bonus points as the highest score in 30 seconds.
Diva Starz installed easily and ran fine throughout the review. However, the voices in challenge mode are somewhat lower than the background music,making it hard to hear what your Diva friend is saying, so you may misssome of the hints she is trying to tell you.
I would say the younger spectrum is the best as older kids may find someof the tasks too simple and repetitive, and hence no lasting appeal.
Other than that, the game is a lot of fun. The manual is one of the mostdetailed and informative I've seen. The graphics are superb, thebackground music is cool and all the divas really have personality, with acapital "P"!
Additionally, girls can use the link to the Web site,www.divastarz.com, for more "diva-licious" fun.
The game is suitable for both PC and Mac users. It is recommended thatusers set the colour monitor to 16-bit and screen size to 640 by 480 high colour.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
For PC users
* Windows 95 or 98
* Pentium 166MHz
* 32MB RAM
* 30MB free space
* 8X CD-ROM drive
* 16-bit colour
* Sound Blaster
* 2MB video card

For Mac users
* iMac (G3 processor) 233MHz
* OS 8.1
* 64MB RAM
* 30MB free space
* 20MB available memory
* 16-bit colour
* 24X CD-ROM

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CD guide to preparing for a smooth wedding (Computimes, 28/10/2002)

By Lee Chiew Lan

Title: Emily Post's Complete Guide to Weddings (CD-ROM)
Publisher: Multicom Publishing
Enquiries: Software Boutique Sdn Bhd (Tel: 03-78763818)
Price: RM39

WHAT makes a perfect wedding? A large crowd at the wedding reception? The radiant couple flashing sweet smiles? Or the whole affair runningsmoothly?
For me, a perfect wedding means all of the above, and planning will haveto begin from the invitation cards. Of course, this is easier said thandone. A complete wedding guide will certainly help. And this is where Emily Post's Complete Guide to Weddings comes into play.
More than just a planning tool, this interactive wedding etiquette guidecomes complete with a video of Peggy and Elizabeth Post acting as yourpersonal bridal consultants. Two of America's foremost etiquetteauthorities, they offer down-to-earth advice on the never-ending detailsof planning a wedding.
Emily Post's Complete Guide to Weddings carries 12 topics on planning awedding - Planning Centre, Attendants, Guest List, Ceremony, Parties andCelebrations, Photography, Budget and Expenses, Invitations, Flowers,Reception, Gifts and Music. Of course, one can always go to the EmilyPost's Online Service program to run the online service you choose duringthe installation for ideas.
The Planning Centre offers advice on formality (the time and day of yourceremony, where the reception is going to be held, size of the weddingparty and the number of guests, etc), cost, setting the date, andarranging reception and appointments. This section shows how to handle the"big" decisions and the little details that will make one's wedding simplyperfect.
If you are unsure of how to choose your attendants, the topic Attendantswill help give you a clear guide on this matter. Here, you can learn aboutthe different types of attendants.
You can also use the Attendants Worksheet to track the information oneach attendant, such as the maid of honour, junior bridesmaids, best man,usherers and the ring bearer.
Having difficulties in deciding who to invite? The Guest Lists willguide you through this problem with the help of the Guest Lists Worksheet. Also available is the division of invitations between the bride's andgroom's families, and advice on inviting children under certain age.
The Ceremony topic comes in handy with advice on meeting a clergy,transportation arrangements, processional and recessional, and specialverses from Elizabeth and Peggy Post. Knowing how difficult it is for acouple to choose a meaningful verse, Post has included selections from Into the Garden: A Wedding Anthology, which can be spoken by the bride,the groom, or both, during the special verses session. Also, you can trackyour appointments and addresses with Ceremony Worksheet, and use theTransportation Worksheet to help with transportation arrangements.
You can view suggestions for pre-wedding parties (showers, bacheloretteparty, bachelor party, rehearsal dinner) as well as engagement etiquetteunder the Parties and Celebrations topic. Make full use of the samples ofletters announcing your engagement, and invitation from one set of parentsto the other are also included. If a picture can paint a thousand words,then photography is a must-have part in your wedding. Helpful advice inphotography and videography coverage, photo and video etiquette as well aschecklists to negotiate with photographers and videographers are availablein the Photography topic.
Tracking expenses. Meanwhile, the Budget and Expenses topic helps youdevelop and manage your budget and track your expenses wisely. I find theguides on who pays for what, division of expenses between the twofamilies, and who's in charge are helpful, especially if you are on atight budget.
The invitation card is another must-have while planning for a wedding.From the Invitations topic, you can learn the details of selecting,wording and addressing invitations, and then later design yours with theInvitation Editor. Tips like ordering an extra 10 per cent of cards andenvelopes since mistakes are made as invitations are addressed and theorder to assembling the invitation, enclosures and envelopes are reallyuseful.
The Flowers topic offers hands-on tips on flowers, from choosing flowers(the bride's bouquet, guests' flowers) to shopping for flowers. You cantrack your decisions and shopping progress with the Floral Worksheet. Reception is another tough event to handle on the big day.
The Reception topic makes handling the event easy with useful guides and advice onreceiving line, seating assignment, reception timeline, dances, placecard, reception reminder, wedding cake, and shopping for a caterer. Together with the Reception Worksheet and the Table Assignment Worksheet,you'll have no mistake about the ins and outs of reception.
Also, learn from the Gift topic on how and where to register, how towrite a thank-you note, and how to handle exchanges or returns. Andfinally, the Music topic includes 10 pieces of traditional wedding musicfor the ceremony and reception. You can use the worksheet to select themusicians and track their contacts as well.
Emily Post's Complete Guide to Weddings is truly helpful, in that itgives the basics for planning a wedding: guest list and responses, seatingarrangements, thank-you notes written, advice on negotiating withphotographers, florists and musicians. This CD-ROM combines text, audioand video in a fashion that removes the anxiety of preparing for thatspecial day.
Unfortunately, nothing is perfect. I was a little disappointed with theguest list program, which, if you do not hit the Enter button after typingin some names and just strike Tab to the next field, you will lose yourentry after having saved the guests' details. Although you can print yourguests' addresses, you are not able to format it to suit your needs.
In a nutshell, Emily Post's Complete Guide to Weddings is an essentialgift for those planning for the big day. Needless to say, the CD-ROM isbased on a Western-style wedding, hence you may want to localise the suggestions accordingly.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
486DX 33MHz or higher
* Windows 3.1/95/98/ME
* DOS 5.0 or later
* 8MB RAM
* SVGA graphics with 256 colours
* SoundBlaster-compatible soundcard
* 2X CD-ROM drive
* Mouse

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Comprehensive bilingual dictionary (Computimes, 03/09/2001)

By Lee Chiew Lan

FRANKLIN B-1100(Electronic dictionary)
Manufacturer: Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc
Enquiries: Foto Millennium (Tel: 03-79579323), Elite Ace (M) Sdn Bhd (Tel:03-41494340)
Price: RM888

DO you find lugging around a dictionary troublesome? If so, then youshould consider the Franklin B-1100 speaking Chinese/English dictionary.This electronic reference comes with a built-in book, plus two domino-sized Bookman II card slots at the back.
At 14.8 by 8.3 by 2.2 centimetres and weighing 230 grams, the B-1100 isable to display characters up to four lines in a movable lid. This easy-to-read option is an advantage as more information can be displayed at onetime.
With this speaking Chinese/English dictionary, you can find over 264,000translations with comprehensive definitions.
There is also a thesaurus, grammar guide, and homophones. The spellcorrection tool allows you to find words that you don't know how to spell.For example, type in "knowlege" and the instant Spelling Correction turnsit to "knowledge", indicating that this word is a noun.
The B-1100 is capable of defining eight languages - Chinese, English,Dutch, Japanese, Spanish, French, German and Italian. It comes with theClariSpeech program that speaks in human voice. You can find the speakernext to the display screen at the front of the unit.
Users can hear the pronunciation of headwords, definitions, and phrasesin both Chinese and English. This is useful in helping users pronouncethe vocabulary correctly, besides learning other languages.
The B-1100 can also be used as a personal organiser. It can synchroniseinformation from your personal computer using Data Link for Windows,Chinese Windows 95 or 98 and Dataguard (an optional feature that protectsdata even if the batteries fail).
Users can make use of this feature to store phone numbers, keep trackof schedules in the to-do list and record anniversaries and other memos.
Calculators. The B-1100 also comes with basic and scientificcalculators, metric and currency conversion, BIN, OCT, DEC, HEX numberconversion and financial calculators.
Users can create lists of study words in the User List and Exam List.They also can save English and Chinese words for personal study or review.And the words can be removed any time from the list to save memory space.
Like any other electronic dictionary in the market, the B-1100 alsocomes with several learning games such as Jumble, Hangman, Word Train,Word Deduction, Memory and Challenges. Besides that, fun games likeRussian Square, Dragon Ball, Number Guessing, Number Puzzle, Checkers and23 Ball are also included.
The dictionary enables users to check several calendar types - Chinesezodiac, solar and lunar. For the frequent traveller, it offers touristinformation and details of various cities worldwide. For example, before aperson travels to a certain part of the world, he can always check theweather, time and accommodation guide from the dictionary. This is goodfor businessmen who are hardly at one place.
For students, especially those in the science stream, will find thePeriodic Table of Elements a great help.
Powered by two AAA batteries, the dictionary comes with a few specialfeatures that include headphone jack, volume control and alternatingcurrent (AC) adaptor jack.
The headphone jack is designed for a 3.5mm, 35-ohm impedance stereoheadphone. Users can use the dial on the right-hand side of the unit tocontrol the speaker's volume.
The AC adaptor is in the three-volt category within a current range of200 to 300 milliamperes.
Unlike other general electronic dictionaries, the B-1100 is capable ofreading additional books by adding Bookman cards at the back. Users canbuy their book of choice from a wide range of categories from health andtranslators to education. With this special feature, users can add a bookin a snap!
All in all, this personal and portable electronic reference is a usefultool for home and office users, business professionals, students and thosewho wish to brush up on their vocabulary. Priced at RM888, the B-1100 isalready available in the market.

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Handy Chinese/English e-thesaurus (Computimes, 23/07/2001)

By Lee Chiew Lan

CANON MD-88 (electronic thesaurus)
Manufacturer: Canon Electronic Business Machines (HK) Co Ltd
Enquiries: Canon Marketing (M) Sdn Bhd (Tel: 03-7446000)
Price: RM199

FOR months, I've been on the lookout for a Chinese/English electronicthesaurus (e-thesaurus), and finally I have found one. The Canon MD-88 isa pretty effective translator, especially when you need to do sometranslation work.
Weighing 88 grams and at 12.3 by 8.3 by 1.3 centimetres when closed, or12.3 by 16.5 by 0.9cm when opened, the calculator-sized e-thesaurus isnifty to carry around and can easily fit into your pocket.
Powered by two CR2032 lithium batteries, the MD-88 comes with a 57.5 by21.8-millimetre screen that supports a resolution of 144 by 48 pixels. The screen can display 18 English characters or nine Chinese characters in aline (maximum three lines).
There is a red On/Off button at the top right hand corner. And below itis a function button with up, down, left (backspace) and right arrows foreasy scrolling.
The MD-88 has five main attractive features - Thesaurus, Record, TimeKeeping, Calculation and Others. The Thesaurus button consists of 50,000English/Chinese words, 12,000 Chinese/English words, words/terminologythesaurus, practical conversation, bookmark inquiry, vocabulary creationfunction and access with pingyin or the strokes of Chinese characters.
For the English/Chinese dictionary, you just have to key in the Englishword and the device will translate it into Chinese, indicating verb, noun,adjective, etc, in a bracket. Likewise, for the Chinese/Englishdictionary, you have to key in the pingyin and select the exact Chinesecharacter to get the English translation.
The words/terminology thesaurus contains three major areas - daily life,nature and social science. The daily life thesaurus covers food,transportation, entertainment, education, living and attire.And each menu is divided into many sub-menus. For example, the Food menuincludes meat, vegetable, seafood, drinks, fruits and dining tools.
The nature thesaurus covers animals, mineralogy, meteorology, plants andastronomy. And it is also linked to other related subjects. For example,mineralogy is divided into metal, non-metal and gemstone.
As for the social science thesaurus, it covers human (religion,languages, career), therapeutics (medicine, specialist, human organs) andgeography (area, nation, city).
By looking at the words/terminology thesaurus, you will discoverhundreds of new things, hence enriching your knowledge and vocabulary. Forexample, you can learn that the music family encompasses classical music,orchestra, symphony, jazz, pop, rock and blues, among others. This, Ibelieve, is useful for intuitive minds.
For those who are looking for some basic communication skills, thepractical conversation option will be a blessing. It is divided into threesections - basic conversation, situational conversation and businessconversation.
The basic conversation includes greetings, apology, thanksgiving andothers while situational conversation covers conversation which takesplace at shops, hospitals, banks, airports, etc. A conversation at a bank,for example, may be "What kind of account do you want?" or "Fill out awithdrawal form, please".
As for the business conversation feature, it includes questions andanswers during an interview or meeting, how to make a phone call,sales/promotion, reception, etc.
Creating vocabulary. With the Function button, you can bookmark any wordyou want, just like bookmarking a Web site. You can even create your ownvocabulary (which is not installed in the dictionary) by accessing thepingyin or the strokes of Chinese characters. Another button, the Record button, consists of several functions. Youcan use the Phone Book function to store up to five types of telephonenumbers - home, office, pager, mobile phone and fax. For those with busyschedules, the Alarm function can be used as an appointment reminder.
Also, the Record button comes with a timetable, memo and convertibleanniversary calendar between lunar and solar. As such, the MD-88 is idealas a business travelling companion.
Another thing, you can check the local and international time using a12/24-hour clock display from the Time Keeping button. This buttondisplays the time in year, month, week, day, hour, minute and second of170 cities around the world.
Besides that, the button can function as a daily alarm clock orstopwatch in a variety of units (hour, minute, second and millisecond). Italso enables users to convert time from lunar calendar to solar calendarand vice versa from year 1901 to 2060. For example, if you want to checkyour friend's birthday according to the Chinese lunar calendar, you justhave to key in her birthday in solar calendar and the converter willconvert it to its equivalent in lunar calendar with the Chinese zodiac aswell. Interesting, isn't it?
Another unique feature of the MD-88 is that it also acts as acalculator, which allows for normal and scientific calculation. Thescientific calculation includes trigonometry, deg r rad r grad convertionand logarithm. Besides that, you can find other useful tools such asconvertion table, currency exchange and personal financial management.
Reference menu. Finally, with the Others button, users can always checkthe memory-space usage. There are lots of useful references such ascountry profiles, chemistry elements, constellations and even Englishnames of males and females.
An interesting feature in this reference menu is idiom. There are 120popular idioms installed such as "a bad workman always blames his tools"and "time and tide wait for no man".
In addition, all the settings in the MD-88 can be adjusted within thisfeature too. Among the common settings are keytone, screen's pre-set, autoturn on/off mode, memo setting, brightness adjustment and passwordsetting.
Also, the Others button comes with seven types of interesting games suchas 23 balls, IQ test, dragon balls and word puzzle.
And users can always update their personal details and records in theinformation and communication menu - a truly great function, especiallyfor those always on the go.
Nonetheless, there are some minor shortcomings. The MD-88 does not havemuch Chinese phrases installed, which means you will have to look forother alternatives to translate some Chinese phrases.
Another downside is its speed. When keying in the English characters atnormal typing speed, it takes a few seconds for those characters to appear- this may test the patience of some users.
Overall, the portable MD-88 is a handy device for those who can read andwrite Chinese. With its 360-degree flexible and protective lid, it is agreat business companion tool and even an excellent gift. But the devicewill be more well-equipped if comes with a pronunciation button, so thatit can help users to pronounce both English and Chinese words correctly.
The MD-88 is already available in the market. It is priced at RM199.

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