Customer Reviews

Interactive Atlas of Human Anatomy 3.0 (Netter Basic Science)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Public spirited as I am, I'd like to warn everybody about the disastrous CD, "Netter's Interactive Atlas of Human Anatomy, v. 3.0", which set me back forty bucks and is useless.

It's not the content, but the delivery. The eighth grade programmers who Elsevier hired to design the disk made it runnable only from the CD, not the pc hard drive. You can't copy the files to the pc, tweak the registry, redirect the D: drive with a SUBST command, or any of that. The program probably looks for a GUID in the CD boot block, which can't be faked on the C: drive.

The disk is designed for heavy interaction (note the "Interactive" in the title!), but the program doesn't seem to cache anything. Every time you click something, the program hits the CD drive. If you click away like you're supposed to, the motor keeps running. In other words, your CD motor will run the entire time you're using this disk. If you're looking for a way to burn out your motor, this disk is it.

I called the programming group in charge of it and spoke to Customer Disservice. The guy was surprisingly candid and said they had received this complaint several times before. Well, duh! Another reviewer has commented that the CD presented no problem to him because he was able to use some software tools to get the CD onto his hard drive. Well, that's great if you're a computer nerd or are willing to hire one, but most of you would rather spend your time studying anatomy, not concocting workarounds for a user-unfriendly disc. The software industry figured out years ago, after many experiments with copy protection schemes, that the best way to protect profits was to keep the product cost low and the revisions frequent. Too bad the textbook publishing industry hasn't caught up, so their obsession with preventing illegal copying comes at great inconvenience to their customers.

I didn't get into the content at all, because I just couldn't stand the sound of my motor running that long. Note, however, that the reviews of the previous version of this disc are overwhelmingly negative, based on content.

In general, I have found that the CDs which accompany textbooks are a waste. Netter's Interactive Atlas of Human Anatomy v. 3.0 is no exception.

This is an excellent piece of software. If I'm near a computer, I do not use my paper version of Netter's Atlas at all. Here is why:

1) Searchable Index. Need to find a particular structure fast? Just type in the word, and all entries will come up in a list. If you click on the entry in the list, it will display the plate with the structure's name and pointer highlighted. (This feature alone is worth the purchase price.) No more flipping back and forth between the index and the plates.

2) You can remove labels entirely or expose labels on rollover. Memorize without having to physically cover anything up.

3) Click on a caption to highlight its pointer. No more following thin lines to the drawings.

4) Create custom study guides. It's as if you cut out the pages you need for a certain section, and covered up all the labels you don't care about.

5) Custom made tests. You can select slides of your choice, and only certain labels on those slides, and create a multiple choice test (name -> structure) or (structure -> name)

It is true that the program spins the CD-ROM drive on every operation. This can wear the drive out. However, there is a simple solution to this. Make an ISO image of the CD and mount it as a drive. It is roundabout, but it works. And as a bonus, the program runs much faster.

So I advise anyone who has not yet bought the paper atlas and who likes studying at the computer to buy this software.

It is only accessible through your cd-rom, unless you know how to create an iso, and then run the iso using a program such as daemon tools, but i had no problem with my cd-rom. it did not run constantly, only when you were searching etc. Excellent pictures, easy to use.

The setup and layout of the atlas is fairly intuitive and easy to maneuver.
One beneficial aspect of the atlas was that one can bookmark certain slides and labels to return to and study further. However, it would have been helpful if the layers of muscle were somehow illustrated or assembled such that each successive layer could be examined or studied.

This interactive atlas is an absolute must have. The pictures are excellent quality and you can test your knowledge with the interactive interface. Don't bother buying the book atlas when this software is available. I owe my terrific grade in medical school anatomy to this software.

Excellent searchable atlas. Grant's atlas also provides an online version but search function is not as complete, often it cant find some of the structures. The computer version is very useful to look things up when preparing for lectures and exams.

Had to return the CD as it was not compatible to the MAC OS X version 10.6.3. Would still like to have the CD if one can be found that is compatible to the MAC OS X version 10.6.3.