discQuest
Sequential Systems, Inc.
Copyright (c) 1994 Apple Users' Group, Sydney
Republished from Applecations, a publication of the Apple Users' Group, Sydney, Australia.
Can you take part in the current CD-ROM revolution with your Apple //gs or is it yet another technology that only "other" computers can take advantage of?
The answer is YES, you can. How?
discQuest is a software package for the Apple //gs which gives access to popular CD-ROM titles.
Written by Procyon, diskQuest gives you access to 15 disks.
Although discQuest lacks the ability to handle animations or color, you CAN read the text files, and graphic files are rendered in SHR Black and White.
Using discQuest is easy - as one would expect. Launch it, and you are presented with a dialog - you can open the disk, or search for a specific word (for instance, 'soldier', in the Complete Works of Shakespeare).
The search routine provides you with a dialog list of files in which that word occurred, and you can pick and choose which you want. (hint: don't look for 'soldier' in Shakespeare - there are HUNDREDS of occurrences).
Each text file may have associated sounds or pictures which can be seen or heard by choosing a menu-bar item.
On some disks (the Audubon disks, for instance) the sound and graphic files are completely separate from the text - and they can be "viewed" either as stand alone files (listen to the Willow Grouse) or as part of the "hypermedia" - that is, look at the text, pull down the menu to see the great spotted Juju-robber.
discQuest is amazingly fast. A wait of more than a few seconds for the file to appear on the screen is rare.
All in all, if you have a CD-ROM, or WANT a CD-ROM, This is a pretty damn good excuse for getting it.
Here are some answers to a few commonly asked questions about discQuest.
Q) What is the advantage of DiscQuest over the standard System Software access and a paint program or wordprocessor?
A) discQuest is much more than a program that views pictures and text files. It allows you to search hundreds of megabytes of text almost instantly, and ties the text
together with graphics and audio in a "HyperText" fashion. In short, it's an information retrieval system.
Of course, it only works with 15 titles, but those 15 titles are quite comprehensive and well-done.
Q) Are pictures displayed in 320 or 640 mode?
A) Pictures are displayed in 320 mode to maintain aspect ratios; you can shrink pictures to half-size to get an overview. Otherwise, pictures are scrollable.
Q) Do you need to have an accelerated GS?
A) No, discQuest is fast on an unaccelerated machine, too. The bottleneck is your CD-ROM speed.
Q) Which titles can discQuest support?
A) discQuest currently supports 15 titles.
**** BEGIN BOX ****
A Synopsis of discQuest(tm) Supported Titles as of Jan 15, 1993
-- Total Baseball - New 1993 Edition (CMC) --
This Multimedia guide is the most comprehensive baseball reference ever compiled.
*2,300 pages of statistics and articles - dating back to 1871
*Player, pitcher, and relief-pitcher registers
*Top 100 All-Time Leaders: Life-Time and Single-Season
*Most Valuable Player, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, and Hall of Fame awards
*A variety of rosters
*Detailed articles covering everything from hitting streaks to scandals to controversies
*More than 600 photos and images of players, teams, and ballparks
*Sound clips of some of the game's most memorable moments
-- 1991 YearBooks(R) (YearBook Medical Publishers, Inc) --
Medical publication yearbooks for 1989, 1990, and 1991.
-- Darwin Multimedia CD-ROM (LIGHTBINDERS) --
Our Price: US$79.95 Retail: US$99.95
*Charles Darwin's complete texts with original illustrations of the final editions of: "The Voyage of the Beagle", "The Origin of Species", "The Descent of Man"
*1859 manuscript outlining the theory of evolution, by Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace
*"Triumph of the Darwinian Method", a guide to the study of Darwin, by Michael T. Ghiselin
*The Darwin Timeline detailing significant events in his life
*A Darwin bibliography of over 1000 primary and secondary references
*Original maps from the voyages of HMS Beagle and HMS Adventure
*More than 650 color and black & white images
*Natural sound recordings from Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology
*Illustrations from "Zoology of the Voyage of the HMS Beagle"
*Plus never-before published material from other distinguished naturalists
-- Monarch Notes(R) on CD-ROM (Bureau) --
Our Price: US$49.95 Retail: US$69.95
This Multimedia CD-ROM edition of Monarch Notes includes the complete text of the entire collection! Each Monarch Note includes author biographies, literary style overviews, relevant historical information, story synopses, character analyses, critical commentaries, bibliographies, and essay questions.
This CD-ROM was given Byte Magazine's "Jerry Pournelle's User's Choice Award" as "CD-ROM Of The Year". Hundreds of authors and works are surveyed in this compendium that Computer Shopper magazine calls "Mondo Cool".
-- Sherlock Holmes on disc! (CMC) --
Our Price: US$49.95 Retail: US$69.95
*The complete text of Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
*Linoleum block prints by Dr. George Wells accompany each story
*The Medical Casebook of Doctor Arthur Conan Doyle by Alvin E. Rodin and Jack D. Key and Medical Poetry by Dr. George S. Bascom
*Complete text index and table of contents browsing
-- The Family Doctor (CMC) --
Our Price: US$59.95 Retail: US$79.95
*Easy to understand advice to nearly 2,000 of the most commonly asked health questions
*An illustrated human anatomy that lets you explore the body systems, structures, and functions from head to toe
*Approximately 300 color illustrations to simplify explanations
*Comprehensive data on more than 1,600 prescription drugs
*Health update booklets, local and national resource listings, and a glossary of over 100 medical terms
-- Shakespeare (CMC) --
Our Price: US$49.95 Retail: US$69.96
*The Complete Works of Shakespeare including plays, poems, and sonnets in full text
*Both American and Queen's English versions
*A complete text index and table of contents browsing
-- Great Literature (Bureau) --
Our Price: US$39.95 Retail: US$54.95
*Full text of over 500 literary classics with Illustrations, CD-Quality voice-overs and music performances
*Famous narrations by Bob Saget, Dave Coulier, and George Kennedy
*Live (not synthesized) music performances
*Full search and browse ability - music and text
*Thousands of images
*A true multimedia experience!
*Everything from Alice in Wonderland to the Nixon Tapes to the Declaration of Independence!
-- Parenting - Prenatal to Preschool (CMC) --
Our Price: US$49.95 Retail: US$79.95
This parenting tool is designed to provide immediate answers to the millions of questions asked by parents and would-be parents. It covers everything from fertility, problem pregnancies, and childbirth to the milestones of child development from birth through age five. Compiled in collaboration with a noted pediatrician and pediatric nurse practitioner, this CD-ROM includes the complete text of Your Child: A Medical Guide, The New Parent's Q&A Book, The Ultimate Baby Name Book, The Complete Pregnancy & Baby Book, The Complete Pregnancy & Baby Book, The Miracle of Birth, and The Couple's Guide to Fertility. It includes over 400 images. Audio clips demonstrate the normal developmental stages of children's language.
-- Multimedia Audubon's Birds (CMC) --
Our Price: US$49.95 Retail: US$69.95
*Complete text of the 1840 first edition "Octavo" set of John James Audubon's Birds of America
*All plates, including 500 full color bird lithographs
*CD quality bird calls for many birds through the courtesy of Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology
*Full text index and table of contents browsing
-- Multimedia Audubon's Mammals (CMC) --
Our Price: US$49.95 Retail: US$69.95
*Complete text of the 1840 first edition "Octavo" set of John James Audubon's Quadrupeds of North America
*Over 150 full color mammal lithographs
*CD quality sounds for many mammals through the courtesy of Cornell Library of Natural Sounds
*Full text index and table of contents browsing
-- The Best of The Bureau (Bureau) --
Our Price: US$7.95 Retail: US$9.95
The Best of the Bureau is a distinguished collection of literature and history, with hundreds of works culled from the best titles of the Bureau Development. Just type in a word, phrase or subject and the powerful search and retrieval capabilities put the information you want at your fingertips - instantly. This is more than just thousands of pages of text. It is a complete multimedia personal reference library - all on one disc!
We have included the best of Dickens, the wit and humor of Twain, riveting biographies of the famous and infamous, ancient and up-to-the-moment histories of the cultures, lands and people of the world and lots, lots more. It's the perfect way to start your Personal Reference Library!
-- US History on CD-ROM (Bureau) --
Our Price: US$249.95 Retail: US$395
Diverse and complete collections of writings and images of history and cultures the world over. These CD's with thousands of articles and pictures are a necessity for any student K-12 or college.
-- History of the World on CD-ROM (Bureau) --
Our Price: US$59.95 Retail: US$79.95
Ride the chariots with Caesar or blast-off to the moon with Apollo! This brand new multimedia title is the perfect curriculum, research and reference tool for students, teachers, and researchers.
-- Countries of the World on CD-ROM (Bureau) --
Our Price: US$249.95 Retail: US$395
A multimedia CD describing the countries of the world, with information taken from the US Central Intelligence Agency database!
*** END BOX ***
Further questions about discQuest and the above mentioned titles should be directed to:
Sequential Systems, Inc.
1200 Diamond Circle
Lafayette, CO 80026
(303) 666-4549 Main switchboard
(303) 665-0933 Fax
(303) 666-7797 BBS
PROCYON.INC@genie.geis.com
bazyar@netcom.com
Jeff at II Series Software (02) 606-9343 is bundling The Family Doctor CD-ROM with discQuest for AU$150.

THIS CONTENT COPYRIGHT © 2007, APPLE MACINTOSH USERS' GROUP, SYDNEY
Permission has been obtained to make this material available on the Internet.

Permission is hereby granted for non-profit user groups to republish this content.
PLEASE CREDIT THE AUTHOR AND THE SOURCE: Applecations, publication of the Apple Users' Group, Sydney, Australia

THIS PAGE COPYRIGHT © 2007, ANDREW ROUGHAN