The Learning Company, Mattel Interactive, and the Remains

The Learning Company is another company legend that changed hands and stole names, just like Atari. It also involves other companies.

Our players were founded in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
In 1973, MECC is founded. It is actually a government agency, the Minnesota Education Computing Consortium. It initially is involved in the business of networking large computers in institutions across Minnesota. You know, the ones that took up a room?
In 1980, The Learning Company is founded. There is no "Inc.", notice. During the same year, Brøderbund Software Inc. is founded.
In 1983, Mindscape Inc. is founded in California.

The Learning Company bought MECC (makers of the Oregon Trail) in the 1980s and continued in educational software, Brøderbund started getting involving in educational software, and by the late 1990s, the Brøderbund name is exclusively used for educational products (Red Orb is the brand used for games, and that name is BRODER backwards).
Mindscape bought The Software Toolworks (maker of educational software, things like Mario is Missing, and Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing), PF.Magic (maker of Catz and Dogz), and Strategic Simulations Inc. (maker of "war games")

About that time, a previously-unknown company called SoftKey International Inc., a Canadian company that had acquired The Learning Company in late 1995, changed its name to The Learning Company Inc. in 1996. That didn't equate to a whole lot: for all intents and purposes, The Learning Company had added "Inc." to its name.

Meanwhile, Brøderbund, having lost The Learning Company to SoftKey, released more titles, such as the launch of the Red Orb Entertainment brand in 1997. Riven: The Sequel to Myst was among one of the Red Orb titles, but other real "games" continued under the Brøderbund name, including The Last Express.

But things changed quickly in the late 1990s, and in 1998, The Learning Company acquired Brøderbund and Mindscape in a fell swoop. Properties of Brøderbund like Carmen Sandiego transitioned to The Learning Company name. The Learning Company altered the Brøderbund logo and laid off most of the staff to focus on edutainment. In 1999, the entire The Learning Company Inc. was sold to Mattel Inc. for $3.8 billion. And that's when things got sticky.

Mattel Interactive, the new name of TLC, was intended to strengthen Mattel in educational software and marketing, but Mattel simply had no concept of a software company worked. Rather than develop original titles, most of Mattel Interactive's titles involved simply exploiting Mattel's brands (Hot Wheels and Barbie among them) and the marketing of the vast recent back catalog of titles produced by The Learning Company and subsidiaries.

After heavy losses (up to $1,000,000 a day), Mattel Interactive was changed back to The Learning Company when they sold it to Gores Technology Group LLC for a song, where it was divided into seven segments for sale to other companies. The Learning Company name and educational properties was sold to Riverdeep PLC, which had acquired Edmark in 2000, and would go onto to buy Houghton Mifflin. Riverdeep exploited the Brøderbund and Mindscape name. Mindscape was now used for the foreign subsidiaries, and Brøderbund, now "Broderbund", was used for Mavis Beacon (among others).

Ubi Soft (later Ubisoft) acquired the entertainment properties and exploited Myst, Catz and Dogz (transforming them into a Nintendogs rip-off), and SSI. It's a sad state that the former properties are being exploited. The only game that really improved under Ubisoft's reign is Prince of Persia, and that was because Jordan Mechner (the original creator) still owned the IP.

What is infuriating, at least to me, is the carnage had a few times to stop. If only Brøderbund had outbid SoftKey and taken The Learning Company for itself. If only Brøderbund and Mindscape declined to become a part of The Learning Company. If only Mattel had not jumped at the chance of buying The Learning Company. If only Mattel had competence in dealing with software. If only Gores Technology Group had left The Learning Company well enough alone and sold it as a whole, someone who could've used the company. But like Atari, The Learning Company is just another exploited name.

You want to know how Mattel exploited The Learning Company/Mattel Interactive?

Fresh from Vintage Computing, we have this ad.

With PCs like these:


The PCs, which were reputedly rather bad (even though they seemed to have reasonable statistics for 2000) had different themes and software packages. The Hot Wheels bundle came with a cheap steering wheel peripheral while the Barbie PC came with an equally cheap digital camera (think about it...cheapest digital camera in 2000...shudder). Thanks to the magic of Archive.org with "HotWheelsPC.com" and "BarbiePC.com", we now have the list of software that came bundled with these things: apart from Windows 98, of course!

The Hot Wheels bundle included (all of these are verbatim from the original website):
Hot Wheels® Custom Car Designer™
The Hot Wheels® Custom Car Designer™ includes everything you need to design Hot Wheels® cars and accessories on your PC. It’s easy! Just design…print out…and customize! Print out your designs on stickers to customize your cars and track! Create personalized pretend driver’s licenses, license plates, birthday cards and much more! (labels and car not included.)


Hot Wheels® Collector's Guide™

The Hot Wheels® Official Collector’s Guide™ CD-ROM offers you the most comprehensive source of information on Hot Wheels® vehicles ever compiled on a CD-ROM, and it comes from the people who make the cars! Browse through the history of Hot Wheels® and fun facts, view the collection, enter information on cars in your collection! With its wide-ranging functions, the Hot Wheels® Official Collector’s Guide™ CD-ROM is an all inclusive interactive tool for all the “official” information!


Hot Wheels® Stunt Track Driver™

Put yourself in the driver’s seat and race down Hot Wheels® tracks! The Hot Wheels® Stunt Track Driver™ CD-ROM is a thrill-packed race through six challenging stunt track environments. Jump into the driver’s seat of a 3-D Hot Wheels® car and perform awesome aerial stunts. Race against time – then add stunts to your run to better your score!



Hot Wheels® Tattoo Designer™

Design and create cool TEMPORARY TATTOOS to wear and share! 100's of temporary tattoo designs included! You can pick the ones you like and print them as is or put your own spin on them. Special software allows you to customize the tattoo into a design you can call your own. You can go wild as you choose your favorite Hot Wheels® designs to customize, print, and then wear for either a few minutes or even a few days. Create your tattoos in four different themes. Gross Things, Cool Stuff, Photo Frames or backgrounds, and Cars or Car-inspired Graphics. (tattoo sheets not included.)


BodyWorks® 6.0

Discover the world beneath your skin

Whether you're looking for an in-depth answer to a specific question or you want to learn about the human anatomy, BodyWorks® is the most informative and educational way to do it! View rotating 3-D models, browse through high-resolution images or expand your knowledge with multimedia lessons - how you learn is up to you!
This new version of 1996's top-selling anatomy software has even more of the features you're looking for:
· 80 3-D rotating models
· 100,000 medical definitions
· More than 1,500 topics
· Video lectures with your personal instructor, Dr. BodyWorks
· One-button Internet access to the latest medical information
· Extensive Web site directory
· And much more!



Compton’s® Encyclopedia 2000 Standard
Loaded with the new Exploratorium interactive science activities, 360 IPIX views, 1,000+ new and revised articles, and so much more, Compton’s Interactive Encyclopedia 2000 is perfect for satisfying your curiosity, working at home, or helping your child with schoolwork. Compton's® Encyclopedia 2000 also includes current, up-to-date information, including all the important events of the last year: Suharto's resignation… the burial of the Romanovs… the bombing of U.S. embassies… the Swiss Holocaust settlement… McGwire and Ripken's baseball landmarks… Clinton's impeachment trial… the Wye River Accord and much more!



The ClueFinders™ Math 9-12
# 1 Learning Software in Schools*

Something strange is going on in a small village high in the Himalayas. Ancient treasures are disappearing – and it’s up to you and the ClueFinders’ to help! Find the clues and figure out what was stolen, who stole it, and where it’s hidden. Was it the guide, or the stable Boy? Is it in the Ice Cave or the Great Hall? Think fast, before all the treasures are gone!
Key Features:

Smart Tutor Help: Just click on friendly characters to get helpful hints.
10 levels of difficulty: Your child can select just the right level of challenge.
Extra hours of fun: With more than 500 possible solutions for 24 mysteries, kids will play this game over and over again.
9 games & activities
More than 50,000 problems
25 math skills
Action-packed arcade games
Awesome animation
Printable progress report



Compton's 3D World Atlas™ Deluxe

Visit virtually any country in the world – instantly and easily – with Compton’s 3D World Atlas™ Deluxe! Whether you are writing a report, planning travel, or exploring the world, it will provide you with all the information you need. On your journey, you will find more than 600 detailed maps, thousands of statistics, in-depth articles – even access to related Web sites. Immerse yourself in the local culture with a wealth of captivating photos, engaging videos, and brilliant sound. Even travel around the world in 3D flight.


Compton's® The Complete Reference Collection™

This CD-ROM links ten complete reference works on one disk including an encyclopedia, dictionary, thesaurus and atlas. It includes detailed information on history, geography, medical topics, grammar and English usage as well as an Internet Directory of 4,000 Web sites categorized by subject and age range. With more than 170,000 entries, 300 maps, 5,000 photographs and images, seven hours of sound and more all general knowledge questions in the home and at school can be answered.

Kid Pix® Studio™

Every child can become a creative whiz with Kid Pix®, the #1 Best Selling Art Software Brand. Parents and educators love Kid Pix because it's loaded with easy to use, imaginative art tools that inspire creativity and offer endless hours of fun. Kids love it because it lets their imaginations run wild experimenting with wacky tools and creating outrageous paintings.


Logical Journey of the Zoombini's®

Children build advanced math and thinking skills as they help the Zoombinis® escape peril and return home!

With Logical Journey of the Zoombinis, kids ages 8-12 build advanced math thinking and logic skills as they lead the Zoombinis in their adventure-game escape to a new homeland. Embedded in each of twelve challenges that face the Zoombinis are educator-developed puzzles that help build data organization and thinking skills vital for understanding advanced math concepts, such as algebra, set theory, graphing, data analysis and more. The challenge never ends! Zoombiniville will grow and prosper as groups of new inhabitants complete the journey. Each puzzle offers four levels of challenge, and the difficulty level automatically increases as the child masters easier math and logic topics. Furthermore, all the puzzle solutions regenerate with each play, so your child never faces the same puzzle twice -- ensuring that your child learns math topics rather than memorizing solutions.


Math Workshop™

Develop critical math skills!

In Math Workshop Deluxe, kids ages 6 to 12 develop critical math skills and explore the fun in math. With two seperate areas of activities, a child can practice the math skill most appropriate to him or her.

Downstairs, math beginners use math logic and spatial visualization to build puzzles that leap to life, or practice basic computation as they bowl for numbers with Gus the Gorilla.

Upstairs, kids turn fractions into funky music, play a game of strategy to launch rockets, or douse fiery flames in the Boiler Room while practicing fractions, decimals, and percents! Kids gain confidence and competence as they solve increasingly difficult problems in computation, logic, spatial relationships, and more.

Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing® 10 Standard

Master typing in just 15 minutes a day with Mavis Beacon!

With more than 6 million copies sold, Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing® is the #1 typing software. It's the proven, effective way to learn and improve keyboarding skills. Perfect for advanced typists and novices, Mavis Beacon uses colorful graphs, tables and certificates to reward your typing success and guide your learning. Eight arcade-style games make skill-building fun and easy. Just enter the game hallway and take your pick! And the Advanced Adaptive Response Technology continually monitors your progress, customizing each lesson to fit your specific needs. So if you can spare just 15 minutes a day, you can learn typing skills to last a lifetime. Mavis makes it easy!



NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC: The '90s

Relive the 90's through the articles and photographs of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC magazine!

Every page, every issue... Follow Jane Goodall's 35-year odyssey dedicated to understanding the ways of chimpanzees in the wild. Examine the state of our most critical resource -- water. Discover the chilling mystery behind Peru's Ice Maiden mummy. Follow the fight to save the Earth's disappearing wildlife through the Endangered Species Act. Once more, witness the devastating aftermath of the Gulf War. And experience many more captivating moments from the 1990s.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC: The '90s enables you to relive hundreds of compelling stories reported during these momentous years in NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC magazine.


The Ultimate Writing & Creativity Center®

The complete word processing and creativity program that makes writing exciting and helps children learn to write. Unlike any other program, Ultimate Writing & Creativity Center combines easy-to-use writing and creativity tools with special educational features that help children learn to write–all in an exciting world filled with interesting facts, imaginative ideas, and interactive characters! Children are coached through the five stages of the writing process: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and presenting. The animation, colorful graphics, sounds, and music inspire and motivate children to write everything from school reports to their own personal stories.


Cyber Patrol®

The Safe Way for Children to Surf the Net

(May 4, 1999) - 1999 Editor's Choice award goes to Cyber Patrol 4.0! PC Magazine Editors describe Cyber Patrol as "the most comprehensive filtering of any of the products we tested," and include Cyber Patrol 4.0 in the 1999 Utility Guide for Parental Filtering. Cyber Patrol is the best way for parents to manage children's computer use and safety on the Internet. It encourages positive learning and exploration, while protecting children from inappropriate material. Cyber Patrol also prevents children from inadvertently divulging information about themselves via the net (Windows only). With Cyber Patrol, you can supervise your child's Internet access, regulate time spent online, and protect your child from sites you determine to be objectionable. Now you can give your child the opportunity to explore the Internet safely; and give yourself peace of mind.



Oregon Trail® Fourth Edition

A thrilling, trailblazing adventure that builds real-life skills!

Build real-life decision-making and problem-solving skills as the leader of a wagon party. Choose your team and supplies, read maps, plan your route and guide your team through the unknown wilderness. Tough choices lie ahead, but with the help of your wagon party and people you meet along the way, you’ll conquer this challenging journey and arrive in a new land.

Organize Your Wagon Party
You'll need to build a team with the skills you think are important for survival on the rugged trail to Oregon. Should you pick a team with money or strong survival skills?



Myst®
The surrealistic adventure that will become your world...

The best-selling computer game of all-time (PC Data, 1993 through July 1999), Myst is a surrealistic adventure that will become part of your world. You will journey to an island world tinged with mystery, where every vibrant rock, scrap of paper and sound may hold vital clues to your unraveling a chilling tale of intrigue and injustice that defies all boundaries of time and space. Only your wits and imagination will serve to stay the course and unlock the ancient betrayal of ages past.



Al Unser, Jr. Arcade Racing™
Al Unser Jr. - Arcade Racing is a first person racing sim from Mindscape. With two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser, Jr. at the wheel, players are in for the white-knuckle ride of their lives. In practice mode, players circle the track alone, feeling out their cars. Then they may move into Competition mode, where they go up against 10 of the most cunning Indy-style drivers around. An advanced AI instinctively responds to the car's every move. Digital sound effects let players hear their tires screech as they make laps around 15 different circuits. Players have the option of four turbo-powered modes: Training, Competition, Arcade, and Duel. Up to two players are supported via network in duel mode.


Rally Challenge™
Experience high speed thrills as you throw a top performance turbo charged racing vehicle around treacherous stages. Including original stages from Sweden, Indonesia, Australia, France and more. Features 4 leading high profile cars including Subaru Impreza WRX, Toyota Celica GT4 and now the Proton 'Wira', realistic physics and fast action to create the most stunning simulation of rallying ever seen in a computer game. Race against the clock, phantom racer or another player via serial link, modem or network. Drive from inside your car, or view externally with one of our breathe taking dynamic rally cameras. Support is provided for keyboard, joystick, gamepads, and steering wheels. So take the challenge. Jump in the drivers seat for the ride of your life. If you dare…


The Barbie computer on the other hand, contained a slightly different bundle of hardware. It contained a whopping 13 Barbie software titles.

Barbie® Cool Looks™ Fashion Designer™

Introducing the sequel to Barbie® Fashion Designer™ CD-ROM, the number one selling, award winning children’s software title for the past two years!

Design fashions for Barbie™ and her friends Christie™, Kira™, and Teresa™!
Design fashions in vivid 3D!
More than 35 vibrant colors!
More than 80 different choices of fabric patterns!
Barbie and her friends model in 5 themed settings!
Instantly try outfits on Barbie and her friends!
Save up to 5 walkway animations to see over and over again!
Make special accessories like backpacks, teddy bears and beach towels!
Make matching accessories for yourself - coin purses and minibags!
Snap on-screen pictures as Barbie poses! Print out your favorites!
Share your fashion designs by e-mail or on disk!




Detective Barbie®
Team up with Detective Barbie® in this action-filled mystery adventure game! It's the night before the carnival opens and a major mystery must be solved! Ken and the charity money have disappeared during a magic trick! You become the newest crime-solving partner as you join Barbie and her friends in the race through the carnival searching for clues and suspects! You can even tell Detective Barbie® your name and she'll ask for your help the entire game! It's up to you to make your own conclusions and break the case wide open...but watch out-clues and suspects change every time you play!




Magic Fairy Tales: Barbie® as Rapunzel™

Help Barbie® as Rapunzel rescue the prince in this magical storybook adventure! Barbie stars as the beautiful princess Rapunzel in an updated version of the classic fairy tale. Rapunzel, Barbie needs your help to rescue her handsome prince (played by Ken) and save the magical kingdom from the wicked witch’s evil spells. Reading and decision-making skills are challenged in activities and puzzles as you help Barbie and her adorable animal friends on their journey.




Barbie® Ocean Discovery™

Help Barbie® search for sunken treasure with Sandy the dolphin and her ocean friends! Save the undersea animals when you and Barbie find the treasure hidden deep in the ocean! Play games to uncover clues and pieces of the treasure map. Each item you find brings you closer to solving the mystery of the gold and jewels! Keep playing, there are all kinds of wonderful secrets hidden under the sea…




Barbie® Party Print 'n' Play™

Have fun creating special Barbie parties in two great sizes – your size and Barbie® doll size! Design and make invitations, decorations, party hats, games and more! Plus, there are lots of great miniature accessories you can make just for your Barbie dolls, like pretty presents, tiny valentines, goody bags – even a pretend TV for a Barbie doll slumber party! Have party fun every day with Barbie!


Barbie® Riding Club

Join Barbie® and her friends for horseback riding adventures! Welcome to the Barbie® Riding Club, where every trail leads to a new adventure! Join Barbie® at the stables where you'll choose and name your very own horse. Ride and jump your way through the hills and trails of the Secret Valley. Race against Christie™ and Teresa™ on you favorite horse! Explore every new trail to find hidden paths and surprises. You can even follow the legend of the mysterious wild horse that roams free in the valley. Could the story be true?


Barbie® Screen Styler™

Customize your computer with Barbie® Screen Styler™ CD-ROM! Bring the exquisite world of vintage Barbie into your computer with nostalgic images and sounds, including interactive screensavers, patterns, posters, icons and more! These original Barbie images from deep within the Mattel archives are now available digitally for the very first time! Barbie® Screen Styler™ CD-ROM truly captures the essence of Barbie and transforms your computer screen into a showcase of classic Barbie images and sounds – at home or at work!




Barbie® Sticker Designer

Design and print fun stickers featuring you and Barbie® too! You and your friends are set for hours of fun with the Barbie® Sticker Designer™ CD-ROM! This cool, incredibly creative program lets you choose from hundreds of images including pictures from the world of Barbie®! Even import your own photos! * Plus, add names and special messages! It's that easy and so much fun to do! (Stickers not included)

*Works great with Barbie® Digital Camera!




Barbie® Storymaker™

Create animated stories starring Barbie® and all her friends! Enjoy hours of story-making fun by bringing your Barbie stories to life as never before - on your computer! Barbie® Storymaker™ lets you choose the settings, the props, the clothes, the characters - even direct their movements and dialogue. Plus you can add music, sounds and special effects. Create thousands of original Barbie stories with Barbie® Storymaker™ CD-ROM!




Barbie® Super Sports™

Snowboard and In-line skate with Barbie® and friends for extreme racing and sports action! Two games in one for twice the fun! Board and Blade with Barbie® through outrageous obstacle courses and radical racetracks! Earn points for cool competitions and spectacular stunts, then get new equipment and do it again! There are ten different levels in an awesome combo of snowboarding and in-line skating!




Barbie® Totally Tattoos™

Create cool temporary tattoos – plus matching tiny tattoos for Barbie® doll! Temporary tattoos are totally hot-- and now you can join Barbie® at her ultra-cool tattoo studio with the Barbie® Totally Tattoos™ CD-ROM! You can design and create original temporary tattoos for yourself and your Barbie dolls with hundreds of cool graphics, special effects-- even your own pictures! (tattoo paper not included)




Barbie® Photo Designer

Film-free color camera instantly puts you into a whole new world with Barbie®! Now you and your friends can become part of the world of Barbie like never before! Use your Barbie® Photo Designer Digital Camera to take all kinds of color photos wherever and whenever you want-it's easy! No more waiting for your photos to develop. Just play on the computer and instantly see the pictures you've taken! Never buy film-The Barbie® Digital Camera stores six pictures in memory or as many as you want when connected to your home PC.




Compton's® Encyclopedia 2000 Standard

Loaded with the new Exploratorium interactive science activities, 360 IPIX views, 1,000+ new and revised articles, and so much more, Compton’s Interactive Encyclopedia 2000 is perfect for satisfying your curiosity, working at home, or helping your child with schoolwork. Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia 2000 also includes current, up-to-date information, including all the important events of the last year: Suharto's resignation… the burial of the Romanovs… the bombing of U.S. embassies… the Swiss Holocaust settlement… McGwire and Ripken's baseball landmarks… Clinton's impeachment trial… the Wye River Accord and much more!





Compton's 3D World Atlas™ Deluxe

Visit virtually any country in the world – instantly and easily – with Compton’s 3D World Atlas™ Deluxe! Whether you are writing a report, planning travel, or exploring the world, it will provide you with all the information you need. On your journey, you will find more than 600 detailed maps, thousands of statistics, in-depth articles – even access to related Web sites. Immerse yourself in the local culture with a wealth of captivating photos, engaging videos, and brilliant sound. Even travel around the world in 3D flight.





NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC: The '90s

Relive the 90's through the articles and photographs of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC magazine!

Every page, every issue... Follow Jane Goodall's 35-year odyssey dedicated to understanding the ways of chimpanzees in the wild. Examine the state of our most critical resource -- water. Discover the chilling mystery behind Peru's Ice Maiden mummy. Follow the fight to save the Earth's disappearing wildlife through the Endangered Species Act. Once more, witness the devastating aftermath of the Gulf War. And experience many more captivating moments from the 1990s.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC: The '90s enables you to relive hundreds of compelling stories reported during these momentous years in NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC magazine.





Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing® 10 Standard

Master typing in just 15 minutes a day with Mavis Beacon!

With more than 6 million copies sold, Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing is the #1 typing software. It's the proven, effective way to learn and improve keyboarding skills. Perfect for advanced typists and novices, Mavis Beacon uses colorful graphs, tables and certificates to reward your typing success and guide your learning. Eight arcade-style games make skill-building fun and easy. Just enter the game hallway and take your pick! And the Advanced Adaptive Response Technology continually monitors your progress, customizing each lesson to fit your specific needs. So if you can spare just 15 minutes a day, you can learn typing skills to last a lifetime. Mavis makes it easy!





The Ultimate Writing & Creativity Center®

The complete word processing and creativity program that makes writing exciting and helps children learn to write. Unlike any other program, Ultimate Writing & Creativity Center combines easy-to-use writing and creativity tools with special educational features that help children learn to write–all in an exciting world filled with interesting facts, imaginative ideas, and interactive characters! Children are coached through the five stages of the writing process: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and presenting. The animation, colorful graphics, sounds, and music inspire and motivate children to write everything from school reports to their own personal stories.






Math Workshop™

Develop critical math skills!

In Math Workshop Deluxe, kids ages 6 to 12 develop critical math skills and explore the fun in math. With two seperate areas of activities, a child can practice the math skill most appropriate to him or her.

Downstairs, math beginners use math logic and spatial visualization to build puzzles that leap to life, or practice basic computation as they bowl for numbers with Gus the Gorilla.

Upstairs, kids turn fractions into funky music, play a game of strategy to launch rockets, or douse fiery flames in the Boiler Room while practicing fractions, decimals, and percents! Kids gain confidence and competence as they solve increasingly difficult problems in computation, logic, spatial relationships, and more.

Cyber Patrol®

The Safe Way for Children to Surf the Net

(May 4, 1999) - 1999 Editor's Choice award goes to Cyber Patrol 4.0! PC Magazine Editors describe Cyber Patrol as "the most comprehensive filtering of any of the products we tested," and include Cyber Patrol 4.0 in the 1999 Utility Guide for Parental Filtering. Cyber Patrol is the best way for parents to manage children's computer use and safety on the Internet. It encourages positive learning and exploration, while protecting children from inappropriate material. Cyber Patrol also prevents children from inadvertently divulging information about themselves via the net (Windows only). With Cyber Patrol, you can supervise your child's Internet access, regulate time spent online, and protect your child from sites you determine to be objectionable. Now you can give your child the opportunity to explore the Internet safely; and give yourself peace of mind.

Myst®
The surrealistic adventure that will become your world...

The best-selling computer game of all-time (PC Data, 1993 through July 1999), Myst is a surrealistic adventure that will become part of your world. You will journey to an island world tinged with mystery, where every vibrant rock, scrap of paper and sound may hold vital clues to your unraveling a chilling tale of intrigue and injustice that defies all boundaries of time and space. Only your wits and imagination will serve to stay the course and unlock the ancient betrayal of ages past.

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It seems a bit odd that Myst would be thrown in there. If you get excited at the Barbie titles and Hot Wheels titles, and the parents get excited at the educational software, it seems a wonder why Myst would get in. It's above the age bracket of these kids...