A Sensation Worth Talking About
It’s no longer enough for personal computers to display text and graphics. The new “multimedia” PCs can play (and record) music and display animation and video.
Trouble is, they’re often complicated to set up and use because most PCs don’t come with the hardware and software required for multimedia applications.
If you’re shopping for a new PC, you might consider getting one with built-in multimedia features. Several companies, including Packard Bell, Acer and IBM, are offering such systems. One of the newest and lowest-priced models is Tandy’s new Sensation multimedia PC.
For $1,999 (plus the cost of a monitor), Tandy is offering a powerful IBM-compatible PC with a 25-megahertz 486 CPU, 105 megabytes of disk storage and compact-disc drive. Like other multimedia PCs, the Sensation can play stereo sound and display graphics and animation.
Unlike many IBM-compatible PCs, this one is easy to set up. You just plug in the keyboard, mouse and monitor, and switch it on. From an internal speaker come oral instructions on how to insert the CD-ROM disc. The computer has a program that gives you a self-instruction tour, including music and animated graphics. There’s no need to plug in speakers or otherwise hook up the machine to your home stereo system, but you can do so for improved sound quality. You can also plug in headphones for private listening.
This Sensation isn’t just an entertainment center. It runs any Windows or MS-DOS-compatible software, and it comes with Microsoft Works for Windows. Works is an integrated program with word processing, spreadsheet and database functions.
The Sensation also has a built-in data and fax modem along with the software you’ll need to access the Prodigy, America Online and Sierra (game) Network online services. You can send faxes directly from the word processing software or receive faxes to view or print out.
The machine also comes with a unique “Phone Center” program that serves as a home voice mail system. You can get revenge against those bothersome business voice-mail systems by requiring your callers to press 1 if it’s for mom, 2 for the kids, and so on. You can also program the system to read special announcements to callers. There is also a family message center where you and your family members can leave written or oral messages for each other.
The machine comes with several CD-ROM discs, including Microsoft Bookshelf for Windows. Bookshelf includes the American Heritage Dictionary, Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, the Concise Columbia Dictionary of Quotations, the Concise Columbia Encyclopedia, the Hammond Atlas, Roget’s II Electronic Thesaurus and the World Almanac and Book of Facts. Many of the articles in Bookshelf feature animation and sound. The dictionary even pronounces words out loud.
Microsoft Windows 3.1 comes installed on the hard disk. You can use Windows’ normal Program Manager to select programs. However, the system is also configured with Winmate, an alternate menu program that’s easier to use. I prefer using Program Manager, but Winmate is a good place to begin because it helps you quickly locate all the software on the machine.
The machine offers respectable performance. Based on my tests using Norton Utilities Sysinfo program, its 25-Mhz central processing unit runs 54 times faster than the original IBM PC.
The $1,999 price includes a built-in display adapter but not a monitor. Tandy charges $499 for its top-of-the-line VGA monitor, but you may find a better deal with another manufacturer’s Super VGA monitor.
