Newsgroups: alt.cd-rom Path: cdrom.com!barrnet.net!parc!biosci!agate!news.ossi.com!ihnp4.ucsd.edu!library.ucla.edu!csulb.edu!csus.edu!netcom.com!cdsale From: cdsale@netcom.com (Todd Ostrer) Subject: Adult CD-ROM REVIEW: Women on Wheels Message-ID: Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest) X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL1] Date: Thu, 7 Apr 1994 17:15:10 GMT Lines: 335 WOMEN ON WHEELS =============== Many thanks to Ms. Lee Noga of Lion's Den International, Inc. (LDI) for providing a copy of their latest adult CD-ROM release called "Women on Wheels" (WOW). LDI is also the producer of the highly successful "Busty Babes" series of adult CD-ROMS. Volume II (BBV2) is the latest, and now the only widely available release in that series. For the benefit of first-time readers, let me say that the contents of this review represent only my personal, non-expert opinion of the CD. I have no fiscal interests in any facet of the CD-ROM business. Accordingly, I try hard to keep my remarks fair and objective. Still, not everyone will agree with my assessments, and that's OK, too. My only goal is to inform the CD customer about the new products that I'm privileged to review through the interest and generosity of cooperating producers, and to encourage the image CD-ROM industry to provide ever-improving quality in their products. Synopsis -------- WOW is a first class adult CD in every respect. Installation of the included GUI SHOWOFF! is a painless, one-step process. IMHO, the scans, with very rare exception, are excellent in all respects. Each of the WOW scans are tastefully and unobtrusively credited to Raiko Hartman who obviously knows his stuff. Production values are high with attractive jewel case inserts, warranty/registration slips, usable FILES.BBS files, "help" files, etc. In sum, WOW is a quality adult CD that, given at least acceptance of if not enthusiasm for the subject matter, any sysop or end-user would be pleased to add to their collection. Statistics ---------- There are 15 directories on the WOW CD. Eleven are dedicated to the WOW scans: 10 of them named "SERIES_x" where x is A..J hold the individual scans; the 11th named "SHOWOFF" is where the "thumbnail" images and the user interface software are recorded. [NOTE: Herein, the individual "SERIES_x" directories will be referred to simply by _A, _B, etc.] The remaining directories are: _24_BIT - A collection of 24-bit images _B_BABES - A sample of 25 scans from BBV2 __COVERS - The three WOW cover scans, an "almost" WOW inside cover scan (should've been); the BBV2 front cover scan, and a sixth scan titled VENUSCOV from the Venus International Model Sarch (that's "Search", Lee) cover. __TXTUTL - A mis-named directory as there aren't any "utilities" in it. Rather it contains four text files which will be discussed a bit more later. The back cover claims WOW contains 1000 images - that's incorrect. Actually, I counted 1006 files in the SERIES_x and would add 1 for the "almost" cover shot to make 1007. I also did a less than completely scientific identity cross-check of the models that appear in the scans. I counted 46 different names in the SERIES_x directory listings. A complete pass through all 1005 images revealed that, as near as I could tell, there was only one discrepancy. The model in _F\PEPPER21 is the same beautiful young miss that's in _I\ELLEN01. If that's the only case of its kind, then there are 45 different very lovely ladies for one to ogle along with a like number of absolutely cherry vintage motorcycles (more on both of these topics in Visual). Operations - Sysop ------------------ As previously mentioned, there are FILES.BBS files in each of the directories except \SHOWOFF (where it's not needed). There is also an ALLFILES.TXT file (and its .ZIP version) in the root directory along with a SYSOP.DOC file. The latter is a short text message to sysops giving LDI's policy on their copyrighted material. It's the same message that was on BBV2. Simply put, it says that the images can be made available for personal use download from a BBS without additional fees to LDI, as long as the BBS owns a copy of the WOW CD. Operations - End User --------------------- SHOWOFF! (SO!), the GUI from Solana Software that LDI also included on BBV2, is the default viewer for WOW. While the version numbers indicate a minor upgrade from the BBV2 release (1.2 to 1.3), functionality remains essentially unchanged. WOW runs just fine from a BBV2 SO! installation, and vice-versa. Users with BBV2 installed may want to re-install from WOW to take advantage of the upgrade which (as a minimum) fixes some of the bugs I'd previously reported: PgUp/PgDn Hitting the PgDn key while on the first page of a collection now correctly goes to the last page of the collection. Blank cell Previously, right-clicking on a blank "cell" of a thumbnail screen caused the thumbnail screen to enlarge. Now SO! correctly responds by just beeping and staying put. These problems being fixed notwithstanding, a couple of problems still exist which are annoying: VIEW Menu If the mouse cursor is run past the top of the VIEW listing, selection from that list is aborted. Rather, the cursor should simply stay at the first selection like it stays at the last selection if it's run past the bottom of the listing. SLIDESHOW If slideshows are begun on the first page of the collection, the whole collection will be viewed. If however, the slideshow is begun on other that the first page, then only from that page to the end of the collection is shown. This may be a feature, but it looks like a bug to me since the slideshow scope choices under FILE are either "1 page" or "entire collection". Installation While the destination HDD can be specified, the directory name where SO! installs cannot. Installation forces the directory name "SOCD". The WOW installation screen incorrectly says it's installing version 1.2. When SO! is executed, it correctly identifies itself as version 1.3. As I went into some detail on SO! in my review of BBV2, I won't repeat my full remarks here. Those interested in reading more about SO! should consult that review. SO! is a highly usable product that, for WOW purposes, provides an easy, intuitive user interface. One SO!-related difference noted between BBV2 and WOW is that WOW has more thumbnail images per page (usually 16) than BBV2 (usually 4). This of course means that the thumbnail images are smaller and proportionately grainier looking. If there's one, overriding piece of advice I'd give to Solana for future SO! upgrades it would be to improve SO!'s dithering algorithms. BBV2's and WOW's thumbnail image quality just doesn't compare favorably with those on Bodacious Beauties which used a competing product. The latter's are much sharper and show far greater detail. Thumbnail images aside, SO! provides reasonably quick access (on a single-speed drive) to all of WOW's scans in the _A .. _J, _B_BABES, and __COVERS directories, particularly during slideshows. I'm sure that performance would be improved on 2x or better CD-ROM drives. (Sigh - maybe some day!) Since the included version of SO! has no TIFF file capabilities (promised in a future release), the "true color" scans in the _24_BIT directory will have to be viewed outside of the SO! interface. A further word on the TIFF files is warranted. These files are apparently recorded on WOW in some sort of compressed format instead of the "native" TIFF format (which is uncompressed). I tried six different viewers on them and was only able to get one Windows-based program to read them. (My system is fully capable of 24-bit color.) Five of the six programs I tried, including GDS and CSHOW, wouldn't even open the files. VPIC 6.1 tried but could only put up a scrambled display. Since Windows' display capabilities are limited to 8-bit color, I wasn't able to really evaluate these scans properly. My point in mentioning this here is that with over 440 Mb of unused CD-ROM real estate on WOW, why bother with a compression technique at all, if indeed that's what was done? For those with 24-bit capability, TIFF scans can be breathtaking. It's a shame to limit their enjoyment, no matter how unintentional, by employing image processing or storage techniques that don't add any real value. 'Nuff said. Visual ------ Getting straight to where the rubber meets the road, WOW's images are a delight to behold. The scans themselves are large, the photography's excellent, the models are gorgeous, and the bikes are awesome. Even if you don't particularly care for motorcycles, you're likely to enjoy looking at these, if you can tear your eyes away from the ladies' charms. To begin, it's worth pointing out that WOW's scans definitely fall into the "glamour" category. While it's true that full frontal nudity is often portrayed, it's also true that there are no "anatomy lessons" on this CD, much less anything that even suggests sexual activity of any kind. There is never more than one female model per scan, and no male models at all save the three _I\STACY scans discussed later. There is VERY little self-touching and none of it is particularly erotic in nature. In short, WOW's scans are MUCH milder than what the adult CD market is presently accustomed to. I'd rate this CD as "Hard R" or "X" at the heaviest. All of the shots were apparently done in a studio with backdrops, good lighting, and a few special effects here and there (like colored gels). The bikes look as if they were lovingly washed and waxed for the occasion - just like the ladies. The bikes' chrome and custom paint jobs (and there's lots of them) fairly gleam and sparkle under the lights. There's not even a hint of dirt, dust, grease, etc. to be seen on any of them. Most of the bikes are Harley-Davidson machines, but Indian, Norton, Vincent, and Triumph are also represented. (Somewhat curiously, "Tonya" in the _G directory has on/off an Indian logo T-shirt, but the bike in her scans is a Harley.) In most every scan, the ladies' are draped over, on, or around a bike in various fetching ways. The combined visual impact of beautiful women and awesome bikes is very strong and appealing. While there's probably some duplication of poses between models, it certainly isn't obvious - and that's a hot button with me so I look out for it. The selection and arrangement of the chosen scans completely hides this syndrome - if it's there at all. Nice job, LDI! It's probably worth iterating that, as far as I could tell, each model posed with a different bike, and exactly one bike. If this is true, given there are (by my count) 45 different models, there are also 45 different bikes to ponder. Not that it matters, but my personal favorite ('tho I'm not a bike fan) is shown in the _J\PENNYnn scans. This "hog" (the bike, not the model, whose appellation "Wild Mouse" is artfully scrolled on the tank and whose license plate taunts "Catch me if you can.") appears to be some sort of supercharged machine. A plumber's nightmare of contortionistic pipes runs all over the engine and front frame. The model, "Penny", is a rather buxom young lady with a look and a smile that made me want to call her "Bambi". Her poses are some of the more provocative ones on the CD. Focusing now more on the ladies (as if I needed prompting), it's safe to say that collectively WOW's models represent as pretty a group of women as you're likely to see anywhere. If you generally agree with the majority of '90s thinking about what makes a woman physically beautiful, it's difficult to imagine that you could not find at least 2-3 ladies on this CD that would raise your heart rate (and probably some of your body parts as well). The following paragraphs are from my notes: 38-24-35 There are several of the models that would qualify as "busty" in anyone's book. Certainly, _A\HEIDI, _B\BRETT, _F\LORNA, _G\SASHA, _G\SIDNEY, _G\TONYA, _J\PENNY, _J\AARON, and _J\RICKI are all in that class. IMO, only _G\NAOMI might qualify for the IBTC, if that matters. Goldilocks Most of the models seem to have rather full heads of hair with _E\DIANE and _I\SHAUNA leading the way with waist-length tresses. Most of the models are blondes of one hue or another; _A\RUSTY is a dark brunette, not a redhead in spite of her name. In fact, I don't recall seeing a redhead in the collection - perhaps I missed her. A.K.A. _E\MARTY goes by the name "Blondi" in more sexually explicit circles. Similarly, if _J\KIKI isn't "Keisha" from those same circles, she's a Keisha doppelganger. _F\PEPPER is a "girl next door" type that could pass for the young Natalie Wood as she appeared in the movie "Splendor in the Grass". 212 F _E\DIANE34, _E\LONI08, and _J\PENNY scans will get your water boiling. If they don't, there's a good chance your thermometer's broken. Oops! _F\PEPPER10 is partially corrupted (the file - not the model) and consequently didn't decode fully from the evaluation copy of WOW. Only about 3/4 of the image made it to the screen. _F\SARA19 is oriented wrongly. It was scanned in landscape when it's actually portrait oriented. _J\AARON02 is reversed left-to-right. (Wrong side of the slide was facing the scanner.) Page 5 of the _H collection is missing (or was skipped). SO! simply beeps when the PgDn key is pressed on page 4 (or PgUp from page 6). The page number at the top of the screen changes to "5", but the display remains the same. Not to worry, no scans are missing from _H. That's not the case in _B, however. _B\GINA26 isn't listed shown in the thumbnails so it's inaccessible from SO! However, the scan *IS* there and can be seen with your favorite standalone viewer, and it's worth the bother. Why? In some model sequences, some of the scans show the model with wet hair. I didn't fully comprehend this as there are no "water theme" motifs on the whole CD. Also, in a few of the scans, e.g. _F\RACHEL and _D\KEENAN, there's a $100 bill on/with the model. I didn't get the message if there was one. Maybe that's how much they earn every hour under the lights - it's not unheard of. G-Rated The 164 scans in the _I directory portray no nudity at all. This doesn't mean that the scans aren't visually enjoyable - they are. Just don't expect every WOW scan to have "non-public" flesh showing. M.O.W. The three scans of _I\STACY have males in them. The female model does not display any nudity, nor do the men. There are also no bikes in these scans. Wheels? In spite of the H-D tatoo showing on her left breast, _I\CORKY02, -04, -05, -06, -07, and -10 have no bikes in the scans. Three of the four text files in the __TXTUTL directory are essentially advertisements for LDI, a phone sex operation, and Solana Software. The fourth file "README" is a SO! help file which is identical to the "HELPME.TIP" file in the root directory. Each of these files is quite short and generally informative but are invisible through the SO! interface. An "outside" reader is necessary to view them. Bottom Line ----------- For anyone who likes softcore scans, there's just no way to miss with this CD. It's not the "fullest" CD in terms of megabytes used, to be sure. Further, some of my comments above indicate areas where I think improvements can be made, and I hope LDI and Solana give some serious thought to them. Nonetheless, the quality of the scans, technically, objectively, and subjectively and the no-brainer GUI make the point that this is a quality product, well worth owning. End-users and sysops alike will enjoy it. LDI and other adult CD-ROM producers are working hard to raise the standards in this genre and WOW proves that steady, substantive progress is being made. ----------------------------------------------------- Review by Bob Jackson: Houston, Texas ************************************** Pacific Data Graphics 350+ Adult titles Email: cdsale@netcom.com (for Latest catalog) 503-257-7255 '24' Hr. Order/Questions Number 1-800-400-7255 '24' Hr. Order Line Visa / Mastercard Accepted ------------------------------------------------------- -- Pacific Data Graphics Inc. 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