Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!ncrlnk!ncrcce!c10sd3!klein From: klein@c10sd3.StPaul.NCR.COM (Tony Klein) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Looking for software for kids Keywords: easy, simple, fun, high tech play Message-ID: <264@c10sd3.StPaul.NCR.COM> Date: 23 May 89 19:58:47 GMT Distribution: na Organization: NCR Comten, St. Paul, MN Lines: 66 Hello, Amigoid netters - The other day my first-grade daughter came home from school excited about the neat stuff they were doing on their computer at school. She showed me this exciting Logo program: REPEAT 3 [ FORWARD 50 RT 120 ] which of course will draw a triangle. Then she said "Dad, you should get an APPLE computer, then you could do this too!" I tried to explain to her the advantages of multitasking, the superior graphics capabilities, but she had raced out the door to play with her friends. Since our boring Amiga computer does not do Turtle commands, it just isn't interesting, and remains Dad's toy. So I ask: Is there a LOGO for the Amiga? Can a 6 year old (excuse me - almost 7) be convinced that the Amiga is a great computer and Dad is not a nerd after all? I have searched the ads to no avail, perhaps I didn't pick the right mags... Speaking of programs for children: What about a word processor for kids? Kids love to type on the computer and print stuff out, but geesh WordPerfect is a little too much to ask. How about something with: 1) Large fonts possible (i.e double height), both on-screen and printed, 2) easy operation (like one-key printing, simple file requesters that don't require you to type "DF1:" in a filename, no requesters flinging up in your face all the time (a la WP), etc (Hmm, maybe Dad could use something like that too...)) Does anyone think Cygnus Ed is simple enough for kids? I wanna buy it, but not if it's just for me. Is MicroEmacs my best bet? How about a word processor that can SAY the text? Gee, that would be fun... One program that is lots of fun for her to play with is Deluxe Paint. You may not think of DPaint as a kiddie program, but a lot of the tools are way huge fun (like the symmetry tools - big WOW to make a perfect snowflake or flower). But how about an object-oriented drawing program like MacDraw? Is there something like that for the Amiga? Then we could draw maps, diagrams, plans, etc, that are sorta hard with DPaint (too hard to move stuff around once it's drawn) Entering text into DPII is a bit hairy, also, especially if you make boo-boos and want to move the words around (after doing some other stuff so 'undo' doesn't help anymore). How about joystick-jerking action games that have *a conclusion* rather than (seemingly) endless ever-more-complex levels of play that just get a 6-year-old frustrated and mad (since she will ALWAYs lose eventually). The 'Educational Software' I have seen is dull, dull, dull, we don't want to do Math or reading drills, we want to PLAY! Draw pictures, write stories, make Mothers Day cards, diddle about with Turtle graphics, make slide shows, etc. Any advice or thoughts anyone? (Children would be great software testers - to determine if your design is clean, simple, and robust just try to teach it to a 6 year old (excuse me - almost 7 year old)) Looking for SIMPLE software for kids to have fun on the Amiga, ____/| Tony Klein NCR Comten, St.Paul, MN 612-638-7861 () \| klein@stpaul.ncr.com ...!ncr-sd!ncrlnk!ncrcce!klein -- Tony.Klein@StPaul.NCR.COM klein@c10sd3.StPaul.NCR.COM NCR Comten,Inc., 2700 Snelling Ave. St.Paul, Mn. 55113 (612)638-7861