Customer Reviews

Math Advantage 2004

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

You know how a lot of games out there are just recycled stuff from the 8-bit days, only with better graphics? This software would have been quite adequate back in the 8-bit days, but in the 21st Century it adds absolutely nothing new to the experience...it's straightforward, which may sound like a postitive characteristic, but so is one of them dry, old texts still in circulation in our run-down inner-city public schools...the games are fairly interesting, but the remaining little bit of "multimedia" is disappointing, nothing imaginative at all...generally speaking, I do not recommend this product -- it's worth only $15 at most. One last note: I have not had any technical difficulties on my WinXP Home laptop. The installation was a little strange (each subject [i.e., algebra, trig, etc.] had to be installed separately), but so far ("so far" because I don't know how much of this boredom I can take -- again, it's just slightly better than rummaging through a textbook and workbook on your own) everything runs fine, if not interestingly so...I do hope they think out of the box for next year's edition: due to a lack of space, I can't go into details, but there is a much better, more interesting, and ultimately much more enlightening way of presenting and teaching mathematics than this, which seems like a straightforward "port" out of some textbook, almost like the kind of generic, unimaginative, half-baked stuff one might find on a CD included in some texts these days, to cash in on the "multimedia 'bug'"....

I wholeheartedly recommend that users with Windows XP DO NOT PURCHASE THIS SOFTWARE. It doesn't work on my Windows XP system. Their tech support is woefully inadequate, and their customer service poor. Encore is just selling junk!

Here's a follow up to my original review: Encore's Tech Support finally replied to my week-old tech support request concerning the fact that not one of the CDs would run on my computer, but only after I left a relatively nasty email with their sales department. Unbelievable as it sounds, they are telling me that I must modify my Window's virtual memory (cache) file size every time I use their software. Now, virtual memory is automaticaly set by Windows for best performance, usually at 1.5 to 2x the amount of physical RAM. In other words, if you have 128 MB of RAM, your Windows OS will set virtual memory at 256 MB. I personally have 1 GB of RAM, so Windows sets virtual memory to 1536 MB. I have great performance with this setting. Anything less and I lose performance because Windows spends a lot of time swapping code from RAM to disk. As I said earlier, Encore recommends that I change the virtual memory setting each time I want to use Math Advantage 2004 (which, by the way, requires a reboot of my computer). Isn't it obvious to Encore that end-users might not want their kids to be mucking about in system settings.

This is a faulty and buggy piece of software. It will not run on my PC (XP Home)without me changing my Virtual Memory from 1000 mb to 200 mb...what an absurdity! The developer offers no solution other than to change my VM everytime I want to use their software.

Well, forget it. They're not the only game in town.

(...) It tells me that "Director Player 6.0 - This program requires at least 3MB of free virtual memory to run." I have 1023MB of RAM on my Windows XP machine. Tells me I'm missing some links so the install obviously does not work properly either.

This software does not work. I'm returning this piece of expensive JUNK!!!

ENCORE, fix these problems before shipping products. (...)

I purchased this software on the advice of a lawyer who used this in his preparation for the GRE. I completed the first Pre-Algerbra disc and although some of the lessons used a convoluted approach in explaining a procedure, I thought it was fine. However, the second disc, entitled Algebra I, would not come up on my computer. I took the disc to my work and had our computer people look at it. The software would not come up on the office computers.

My home computer registered that it was a damaged disc. The item is clearly defective but I can't get Amazon to take it back.
I am very disappointed. I intend to take the GRE in six months and thought I had enough time to prepare. I didn't plan for damaged software and I did not expect that the vendor would refuse to be responsible for it. There are eight discs in this program and I was taking it one by one. There may be other disappointing surprises in the remaining discs that I have yet to discover. I need to learn this material and if any reader has another suggestion for instructive math software, please let me know.

Beware, this software is not compatible with Microsoft XP Professional Edition and the Encore Software website does not provide any troubleshooting information for it in their Knowledge Database...

Forty Dollars down the drain!

I have the same problem on a computer running Windows 2000 with 1GB memory. The software won't start and gives me the error message "Director Player 6.0 - This program requires at least 3MB of free virtual memory to run". I know there is more than 3MB of free virtual memory on my computer. I tried different virtual memory setting and found that setting virtual memory to 128MB would cause the software to run. It is obvious that the software has mis-calculated the available virtual memory. It interprets virtual memory > 1GB as less than 3MB virtual memory. I have sent email to the technical support at Encore and are waiting for their reply. I share the previous reader's opinion that setting the virtual memory to a lower setting is not an acceptable solution.

However, after I started the program, I like the interface and graphic. The software is better than "Mind Power Math Middle School" from the Learning Company. I also like that it has a game where you can test your skill.

I will write an update after I receive a reply from Encore.

The earlier review about how "8-bit" this software seems, is right on the mark. I bought Math Advantage to try to learn the math I had missed in school... and I am finding the whole experience of using this software slow and frustrating. What may be salvagable to me is to use M.A. as a starting point for further exploring, on the web and elsewhere. Such that, when I get to a point where the convoluted and seemingly "wrong" lessons bring me to a point of frustration, I can then go to the web and search on whatever the lesson is trying to teach and hopefully get clarification.

Having now spent the money and having had the motivation in the first place to learn what I had missed, perhaps I can salvage some knowledge from actually using Math Advantage 2004 (which is unchanged since 2002, if not earlier) - but this product is in serious need of a makeover and modernization to compliment the abilities of today's computer operating systems.

2007 update: As I still had the discs, I tried to run them on a new Vista Home Premium laptop... they actually work: if you set the Compatability (rt click on Properties) to Windows 98/ME - and Run As Administrator... it's still a weakly designed program, but you may be able to get some use from it...

I just have some comment about the previous couple of posts. I actually donot have this software but find this page through google on "Director Player 6.0 3MB of free virtual memory" for a possible fix on a different product. I think direct player is a macromedia product and they didn't get updated for calculating GB correctly.

Here is the url http://www.truenorthentertainment.com/html/flytying/fly_support.htm

Macromedia probably should patch this up. It's not very responsible to ask another person to fix the problem when it is really yours.

This software really scrambled my computer. Had to reinstall numerous programs. It created 77 errors in the Registry. I haven't had this much trouble in years. I even created a restore point before installing, but that didn't help

Watch Out!