REED INTRODUCES CD ROM ENCYCLOPEDIA FOR CHILDREN AGES 6-12

Heinemann Children's Multimedia Encyclopedia for Windows & Mac organizes
articles, video, sound by subject, for easy exploration

GERMANTOWN, MD., Jan. 10, 1995 - Children ages 6 to 12 now have their own
interactive, multimedia encyclopedia.

THE HEINEMANN CHILDREN'S MULTIMEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA for Windows and the
Macintosh combines all 11 volumes of the Heinemann Children's Encyclopedia
with video, sound, animations, photographs, drawings,
illustrations and other graphics.

Information is arranged in articles that are organized by subject, instead
of conventional alphabetic listings--a structure that makes the
encyclopedia easy to read and work with, as well as fun to explore.

Also, picture captions are read aloud, so that even very young children may
enjoy and learn from the encyclopedia.

THE HEINEMANN CHILDREN'S MULTIMEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA is the second multimedia
software title for home and business use published by Reed Technology &
Information Services (RTIS), formerly Online Computer Systems, of
Germantown, MD.

The first title published in mid-October. The Rabbits At Home is an
interactive learning adventure that introduces children ages 3 to 6 to
language, counting and time a reference. It combines multimedia CD-ROM
software with hard-bound books that feature the three children of Mr. and
Mrs. Rabbit--Rags, Rosie and Roly--characters from the well-known series
of "Learning Together" books from Brimax Books Ltd.

The new software is a partnership of RTIS and Reed International Books Ltd.
of London, England.

RTIS develops and markets stand-alone and network CD-ROM hardware and
software. With its OPTI-WARE search-and-retrieval engine, RTIS also builds
and publishes such electronic applications as bibliographic and multimedia
reference products, scientific and technical journals, technical
documentation, and illustrated parts and product catalogs.

Reed International Books is a distinguished book publisher, with imprints
that include Brimax and Heinemann, among others.

The two sister companies are members of the Reed Elsevier plc group, one of
the world's largest publishing and information services companies.

Easy, exciting

THE HEINEMANN CHILDREN'S MULTIMEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA makes it easier and
exciting for children ages 6 to 12 to find information on everything from
astronauts to zebras.

The CD-ROM exploits multimedia to make information come alive. It
integrates text from the 11-volume reference with over 800 photographs in
high-resolution color, more than 90 videos, and nearly 800 narrated
captions.

To make information easy to read and browse, contents of the CD-ROM are
organized into 11 subject categories that include "People," "Animals,"
"Plants," "Earth and Beyond," "Famous Men and Women," "Travel and
Communications," "Technology at Work," "Countries and Homes," "Arts and
Entertainment" and "Sports and Leisure," plus a comprehensive index.

Each subject listing features a second table of contents that enable
children to quickly navigate and explore. As an example, the second level
of "People" features 11 subcategories that include "Our body and our
health," "Peoples of the World," "Peoples of the past," "Religions and
sects," "Folklore and belief," "Legends," "Government," "Education,"
"Law," "Warfare" and "International Organizations."

Subjects are clearly explained with readily-grasped examples--along with
information that stimulates creativity. For instance, the encyclopedia
cites the familiar King Arthur and the less well known Norse sagas to
illustrate how stories and history might intertwine to create legends.

Children are able to "drill down" to increasingly detailed information
--for example, starting at "People" and progressing to "Scientists" and
then to "Einstein."

Interface for kids

Designed for children, the graphical interface of the CD-ROM positions the
primary controls that access information and move around the encyclopedia
as large icons at the bottom of the screen.

As an example, the "search" button enables students using the encyclopedia
for school to find information quickly by entering a specific word or
phrase in a pop-up dialog box.

Also, children may "page" through the encyclopedia as if it were a book,
making it easier to browse and explore.

The right side of the screen displays additional control keys that access
Help, a comprehensive Index and Advanced Features.

The Advanced Features enable children to change the main colors of the
graphical interface; "History" records all actions as a child views an
article or executes a search, with users able to quickly return to any
action listed; "Add Notes" provides a pop-up clipboard for students to
annotate sections of the encyclopedia; "Add Bookmark" identifies an
article for future reference and stores it in a list; "Go to Bookmark"
lists all bookmarked articles, with users able to access any bookmark
listed; and "Print."

Pricing, requirements

THE HEINEMANN CHILDREN'S MULTIMEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA is available immediately
for Windows and the Macintosh, $69.95 SRP. A network version for eight
workstations is available for $195 SRP.

The Windows edition of THE HEINEMANN CHILDREN'S MULTIMEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA
requires a 16MHz 386SX or faster, VGA or Super VGA monitor with 256
colors, MS/PC-DOS 3.1 or higher, Windows 3.1, 4MB RAM, 2.5MB of hard-disk
storage, a mouse, a CD-ROM drive, a Sound Blaster-compatible audio card,
and speakers.

The Macintosh edition of THE HEINEMANN CHILDREN'S MULTIMEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA
requires a Macintosh with an 8-bit color monitor with 256 colors, System
7.01 or higher, 4MB RAM and a CD-ROM drive.

The software is available direct from Reed Technology & Information
Services, 800-308-6353.

Master distributor for THE HEINEMANN CHILDREN'S MULTIMEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA is
Future Vision Holding Inc., 800-472-8777

Reed Technology & Information Services
(formerly Online Computer Systems)
20251 Century Blvd.
Germantown, Md. 20874-1196
800-922-9204,  301-428-3700,  FAX: 301-428-0224
CompuServe: 71333,2736
America Online: Reediact
Internet: Helpdesk@ocs.com
Orders: 800-308-6353

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