vemartin's Full Review: Encore Marine Aquarium 2.5 Full Version for PC, Ma...
I took my teenaged daughter shopping for Christmas presents a few days ago; you know a bonding opportunity if ever I saw one, except she kicked me out of Target, and told me not to come back for an hour while she shopped alone. Luckily for me there was a CompUSA nearby. So, with nothing particular in mind to look for I wandered in and caught up on all the latest and greatest hard ware and software gadgets for Christmas.
While gazing in wonder at the new Toshiba Satellite P25-S609 with huge 17” diagonal Wide Screen XGA display, the one next to it, an equally as large Toshiba Satellite P25-S509 went into screen saver mode. And what came up astounded me. A stunningly realistic fish aquarium with a brightly hued coral reef background and equally bright colored swimming 3D fish lit up the screen. Added to that was the sound of an air pump and graphics of air bubbles rising from the bottom of the screen to the top, in a continuous stream. Filtered light reflected off the coral as six and sometimes seven very, very realistic looking tropical fish swam by the screen and a starfish moved slowly along the sand. Day turned to night, and the coral turned black, but the bubbles still rose against a pale blue screen background. Then night turned to day, then to night again with the aquarium lights turned on. Again the realism was startling.
Fish sway as fish do, their fins moving slowly back and forth in rippling motion, or in sharp jerking motion propelling the forward. And still the lone starfish move slowly from place to place, eventually ending up on the side of the tank itself. Welcome to SereneScreen Marine Aquarium version 2.0.
Forget the stock fish screen saver that shipped Windows 9x,SereneScreen Marine Aquarium version 2.0 makes it look like a kindergarten scribbling. The fish rendered in the program are actual 3D Models, not flat images dragged across the screen. SereneScreen Marine Aquarium version 2.0 can be used as a screensaver or as a stand-alone program. This Deluxe version includes 26 different species of fish to choose from. Twenty dollars later, the program was mine.
Installation:
Nothing to it; I installed SereneScreen Marine Aquarium version 2.0 on my Toshiba Satellite running Windows XP Professional. Space is not an issue; it took up only 36Kb on my hard drive. During the installation process there is an option to have SereneScreen Marine Aquarium version 2.0 as the default screens saver and to place an icon on the desktop, both of which I chose. Double clicking the icon will invoke the program.
Use:
There are a number of controls that can be manipulated via the setting tab under Display/Screen Saver in Control Panel. Tabs include Settings/ Fish/ Help/ About/ Register. I have left all the defaults as they are set, but most are self-explanatory.
Like I stated above, SereneScreen Marine Aquarium version 2.0 integrates seamlessly into the Windows XP screen saver module and as such, the usual screen saver controls are present and it can be password protected.
All-n-all, this is an excellent program, and well worth the price I paid for it. And I continue to be dazzled by the graphic realism of the program.
Featured Fish:
• Addis Butterflyfish
• Blue Damselfish
• Blue Ring Angelfish
• Clown Triggerfish
• Copper-banded Butterflyfish
• Emperor Angelfish
• Flame Angelfish
• Forceps Butterflyfish
• French Angelfish
• Koran Angelfish
• Lionfish
• Longfin Bannerfish
• Percula Clownfish
• Picassofish
• Powder Blue Tang
• Purple Tang
• Queen Angelfish
• Redfin Butterflyfish
• Regal Angelfish
• Regal Tang
• Rock Beauty Angelfish
• Royal Gramma
• SeaStar
• Squarespot Anthias (male)
• Threadfin Butterflyfish
• Three Stripe Damselfish
• Yellow Tang
Twenty-six exotic species of fish are included here Watch in amazement as these 3D fish turn and swim Enhance your virtual aquarium with adjustable li...More at Amazon
Twenty-six exotic species of fish are included here Watch in amazement as these 3D fish turn and swim Enhance your virtual aquarium with adjustable li...More at Amazon Marketplace
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