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SoftKey Publishing
SoftKey International (originally SoftKey Software Products, Inc.) was a software company founded by Kevin O'Leary in 1986 in Toronto, Ontario. It was known as The Learning Company from 1995 to 1999 after acquiring The Learning Company and taking its name. SoftKey played a major role in the dissolution of the edutainment industry by the turn of the millennium. Contributing factors include its reduction of the market price by releasing shovelware discs of freeware and shareware, hostile takeovers of major edutainment software companies, reduction of these acquisitions to a skeleton staff, and questionable financial practices to maintain its stock price. In 1999, the company was acquired by Mattel in what ''Businessweek'' called one of "the Worst Deals of All Time". It was subsequently folded into Mattel Interactive. Products SoftKey published and distributed CD-ROM-based personal computer software for Windows and Macintosh computers during the late 1980s and 1990s. Its li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Computer Software
Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consists of machine language instructions supported by an individual processor—typically a central processing unit (CPU) or a graphics processing unit (GPU). Machine language consists of groups of binary values signifying processor instructions that change the state of the computer from its preceding state. For example, an instruction may change the value stored in a particular storage location in the computer—an effect that is not directly observable to the user. An instruction may also invoke one of many input or output operations, for example displaying some text on a computer screen; causing state changes which should be visible to the user. The processor executes the instructions in the order they are provided, unless it is instructed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Optical Disc Packaging
Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage. Jewel case A jewel CD case is a compact disc case that has been used since the compact disc was first released in 1982. It is a three-piece plastic case, measuring , a volume of , which usually contains a compact disc along with the liner notes and a back card. Two opposing transparent halves are hinged together to form the casing, the back half holding a media tray that grips the disc by its hole. All three parts are made of injection-moulded polystyrene. The front lid contains two, four, or six tabs to keep any liner notes in place. The liner notes typically will be a booklet, or a single leaf folded in half. In addition, there is usually a back card, , underneath the media tray and visible through the clear back, often listing the track names, st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Print Shop
The Print Shop is a basic desktop publishing software package originally published in 1984 by Broderbund. It was unique in that it provided libraries of clip art and templates through a simple interface to build signs, posters and banners with household dot-matrix printers.InfoWorld magazine, page 57 - 17 September 1984 Over the years, the software has been updated to accommodate changing file formats and printer technologies. The original version was for the Apple II and created signs, cards, banners, and letterheads. Designed by David Balsam and programmed by Martin Kahn, it became one of the most popular Apple II titles of all time. Versions for MS-DOS, Commodore 64, and the Atari 8-bit family followed, as did a variant for the Apple IIGS. Reception The Print Shop was very successful. In 1985, it and ''Ghostbusters'' were reportedly the two most widely pirated Commodore 64 programs. ''II Computing'' listed it seventh on the magazine's list of top Apple II non-game, non-educa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carmen Sandiego (video Game Series)
''Carmen Sandiego'' is a series of American educational software, educational mystery video games that spawned an Carmen Sandiego (franchise), edutainment franchise of the same name. The game released in 1985, ''Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (1985 video game), Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?'', started off both the video game series and the franchise as a whole, which has continued up to the present day. Each game of the series has a particular theme and subject, where the player must use their knowledge to find Carmen Sandiego (character), Carmen Sandiego or any of her innumerable henchmen. This series was originally owned by Broderbund, but is now owned by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Since its initial release the series has won over 125 awards and accolades. Design Background In 1983, the founders of Broderbund, Broderbund Software, Gary and Doug Carlston, publicly discussed a plan to make edutainment one of their company's three focus areas. The character of Car ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Broderbund
Broderbund Software, Inc. (stylized as Brøderbund) was an American maker of video games, educational software, and productivity tools. Broderbund is best known for the 8-bit video game hits ''Choplifter'', ''Lode Runner'', ''Karateka'', and ''Prince of Persia'' (all of which originated on the Apple II), as well as ''The Print Shop''—originally for printing signs and banners on dot matrix printers—and the ''Myst'' and ''Carmen Sandiego'' games. The company was founded in Eugene, Oregon, and moved to San Rafael, California, then later to Novato, California. Brøderbund was purchased by SoftKey in 1998. Many of Broderbund's software titles, such as ''The Print Shop'', ''PrintMaster'', and ''Mavis Beacon'', are still published under the name "Brøderbund". Games released by the revived Broderbund are distributed by Encore, Inc. ''Brøderbund'' is now the brand name for Riverdeep's graphic design, productivity, and edutainment titles such as The Print Shop, ''Carmen Sandiego'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Storybook Weaver
''Storybook Weaver'' is a 1994 educational game released on floppy disk for the Apple Macintosh, aimed at children aged 6–12. An updated version, Storybook Weaver Deluxe, was released for Windows and Mac computers and featured much more content than the original. Both versions were released by MECC. The Deluxe version was made available for both home and school environments. A Teacher Resource CD for the software included lesson plans and user guides. Gameplay Storybook Weaver Storybook Weaver is a program that is intended to enable and motivate children to easily create their own stories on a computer. The most noticeable feature of the game is the sizable space allowed for illustrations on each page of a story. The game offered hundreds of backgrounds, objects and characters that could be selected from easy-to-use categories and placed anywhere on the page through a simple click-and-drag process. Backgrounds in the original featured mostly natural, outdoor locations, wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Number Munchers
''Number Munchers'' is a 1986 video game and a spin-off to the title '' Word Munchers''. It was made by MECC for Apple II, then ported to DOS and Macintosh in 1990. The concept of the game was designed by R. Philip Bouchard, who also designed ''The Oregon Trail''. Two versions of the game were released being the Consumer Version (for home use) and the School Version (for classrooms). After The Learning Company acquired MECC, the game was rebranded as "Math Munchers". Gameplay The player controls the muncher who must move around a grid and munch on numbers that match the logic rule above, while avoiding the threatening troggles. As the player progresses the levels, the logic rules have bigger numbers and harder difficulty and multiple troggles pursue the muncher. Modes of play There are five different modes of play in Number Munchers to advance players' mathematical skills. These modes include Multiples, Factors, Primes, Equalities, and Inequalities: * Multiples - the objective ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Word Munchers
''Word Munchers'' is a 1985 video game and the first of the ''Munchers'' educational series. It was made by MECC for Apple II, then ported to DOS and Macintosh in 1991. It was re-released in 1996 for Windows and Macintosh as "Word Munchers Deluxe". The concept of the game was designed by Philip R. Bouchard, who also designed ''The Oregon Trail''. Gameplay The player controls the Muncher who must move around a grid eating words that match condition at the top of the screen, while avoiding the threatening Troggles. As the player progresses through the levels, the difficulty of the matching conditions increases, and multiple Troggles pursue the Muncher. Educational goals The game was designed for first- to fifth-grade students, emphasizing vowel sounds, while teaching students grammar, phonics Phonics is a method for teaching people how to Reading, read and write an alphabetic language (such as English alphabet, English, Arabic alphabet, Arabic or Russian alphabet, Russian). It ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Oregon Trail (series)
''The Oregon Trail'' is a series of educational computer games. The first game was originally developed by Don Rawitsch, Bill Heinemann, and Paul Dillenberger in 1971 and produced by the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (MECC) in 1974. The original game was designed to teach 8th grade schoolchildren about the realities of 19th-century pioneer life on the Oregon Trail. The player assumes the role of a wagon leader guiding a party of settlers from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon's Willamette Valley via a covered wagon in 1848. History In 1971, Don Rawitsch, a senior at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, taught an 8th grade history class as a student teacher. He used HP Time-Shared BASIC running on a HP 2100 minicomputer to write a computer program to help teach the subject. Rawitsch recruited two friends and fellow student teachers, Paul Dillenberger and Bill Heinemann, to help. The original core gameplay concepts that have been included in every subsequent vers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MECC
The Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (later Corporation), most commonly known as MECC, was an organization founded in 1971 best known for developing the edutainment video game series '' The Oregon Trail'' and its spinoffs. The goal of the organization was to coordinate and provide computer services to schools in the state of Minnesota; however, its software eventually became popular in schools around the world.and Canada. MECC had its headquarters in the Brookdale Corporate Center in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. It was acquired by SoftKey in 1995 and was shut down in 1999. History Origins During the 1960s, Minnesota was a center of computer technology, what '' City Pages'' would describe 50 years later as a "Midwestern Silicon Valley". IBM, Honeywell, Control Data and other companies had facilities in the state. In 1963, their presence inspired a group of teachers at the University of Minnesota College of Education's laboratory school to introduce computers into ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Math Rabbit
''Math Rabbit'' is a 1986 in video gaming, 1986 video game that serves as a spin-off to the ''Reader Rabbit'' edutainment series. It was made by The Learning Company for MS-DOS and Apple II series, Apple II. A ''Deluxe'' version was released in 1993 for MS-DOS, Classic Mac OS, Macintosh, and Windows 3.x. Then in 1997, the game was remade for Windows and Macintosh as ''Reader Rabbit's Math 1''. The final remake for Windows and Macintosh in 1998 is ''Reader Rabbit's Math Ages 4-6'', with a personalized version released in 1999. Gameplay The game takes place in a circus and teaches addition, subtraction, and counting in four different games, each of which with multiple difficulty settings. The game is for ages 4–7. The four games are: # Clown's Counting Games - the player is required to count with a number as a guide to pitch the tone of the musical instrument. # Tightrope Game - the player has to help Reader Rabbit match a picture of objects with a displaying number and discard t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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