Give Your Computer More to Do
After balancing the checkbook and entertaining the kids, how else can your home computer earn its keep?
There are thousands of new uses, say computer authors Andy and Tina Rathbone of San Diego, who offer this sampling of what new software can do for you.
* Rearrange your furniture: Home design software lets you change your living space--as many times as you like--without lifting your fingers from the keyboard. The computer screen shows you how the piano would look in the other corner, without rolling it across the carpet.
* Discover a scholarship: You’ve probably read those stories about scholarship packages for kids of Welsh ancestry living in odd-numbered ZIP codes. Scholarship software packages not only ferret out any possible qualifications, but compose the letter and address the envelope.
* Design a quilt: Check your quilt design for contrast and harmony before picking up the scissors. Quilt software lets you create colors, lay out blocks and compute yardage measurements to take to the fabric store.
* Monitor auto maintenance: Track expenses or merely check the last time you rotated the tires.
* Track health coverage: Not sure how many times you’ve been billed? Health insurance programs can compare policies and options, print claim forms or track family members covered by separate plans.
* Learn a new language: Your computer can be a tireless tutor, whether you’re preparing for a business trip, a vacation or a house guest. Translation modules transform text from your language into the one you’re learning.
* Overcome jet lag: Type in the destination, season and journey duration, then get a pocket-sized list of optimum waking hours, recommended sun exposure times and foods you can eat to combat the strains of travel.
* Grow a garden: Keep records of favorite varieties or search the software’s databases for plants with specific characteristics. Garden software can lay out a landscape, and recommend sprinkler head size and locations. Some programs even “grow” your seeds on the screen, so you can preview what your garden will look like.
* Gaze at the stars: When is the best time to see Saturn’s rings? Astronomy software shows you names and positions of the constellations and planets visible from your locale by date.
