Reviewing the CD-ROM edition of Cook's Endeavour Journal

How should someone review a CD-ROM? It is obviously not the same as reviewing a book, since the digital itself vies with the text for attention, and requires its own forms of evaluation. The typical book review includes a summation of the argument, and then offers either an analysis or a reply. But very few book reviews complain about the font used or how the index is organized. There is seldom a complaint about how thick the paper is or whether page headers and footers are distracting. With the book, the design has become boring ... or at least unremarkable.

But not so with CD-ROMs. The organization of the CD-ROM creates a wide range of challenges that are not part of the printed page. People know how to use books, and so any concern for the usability of the book is forgotten. How we can navigate through a digital interface, on the other hand, is a central concern for CD-ROMs.

There is a technical aspect to reviewing CD-ROMs, which means that they ought to be written as much for the computer user as for the text reader. As a potential reader, you will probably want to know that the Endeavour CD-ROM works on most Windows (486/DX2 or better) and Macintosh (68040 or better) computers and that it works best with speakers and a color monitor. And, of course, it requires a CD-ROM reader with a speed of 4x or greater. Finally, you can check out the publisher’s web site at <http://www.nla.gov.au/pub/endeavour.html>. However, while this information is important, it can also distract from other aspects of the review. There is a danger that a CD-ROM review turns into the kind of review found in computer magazines, where the CD-ROM is one computer product among many. A review should also focus attention on issues arising from the interface and the content, which will extend beyond a concern for “usability” and also address concerns for what is included, what could have been included, and how the content is both structured and accessed.

The character of the interface is an important concern. Currently, there is almost nothing standard from one interface to another. Of course, the variations are not necessarily bad t the desire for standardization raises its own questions t but the variation means that a CD-ROM review must consider more than what is typically understood as content. The reviewer must also be concerned with how the text, the pictures, and other material are presented, and how the software allows people to navigate within this digital space. The problem is not just with the interface, but also the likelihood of missing things that are included because one path was not followed or even noticed. With a book, the reader is not worried about being able to find the words. A book like Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit is difficult, but not because the link to chapter five is an obscure button that very few people can find. But given that CD-ROMs often cannot be read cover to cover, that their content typically cannot even be completely specified with any confidence, let alone assessed, how is it possible to offer a serious review of them? The reviewer may well be fated to respond only to the things that were noticed (or stumbled upon), while facing a persistent sense that so many other things were available, but never seen.

As a multimedia package this disk is fairly well done, with a wide variety of text, pictures, and video. The production is based on Macromedia and Quicktime, which has allowed them to create a graphically interesting and varied presentation. One frustrating aspect of the interfaces, which are built around graphics of different instruments on the ship, such as a compass and a magnifying glass, is that they sometimes complicate the navigation around the CD-ROM. Here, by way of example, is a view of the main menu...