Touch Cats Review, by Gerry Kennedy, December 2008
| Author: | Gerry Kennedy © December 2008 Gerry Kennedy IT Consultancy |
| Software: | Touch Cats |
| Category: | Touch Window, Switch and Mouse/ Trackball/ Keyboard access |
| Available for: | Microsoft Windows ME/2000/XP/Vista |
| Web Sites: | www.sarahgreenland.com , www.spectronicsnoz.com |
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Touch Cats delivers more than most switch or touch window programs – in that it introduces a whole new genre to this field. Clever use of animated cats will delight, engage and entreat users to explore the five environments in which they play and move about. The behaviour of the different cats is mesmerising at times, as they look so life-like and react to stimuli typically as cats in real life. 
The different scenes and actions provide stimulating switch and touch activities that promote the use of a range of preferred input devices. High quality sound effects matched to the activities and cats’ responses are appropriate for a range of users. The excellent sound quality adds to the enjoyment as they have been carefully selected and matched to make the situation as realistic as possible.
It is not simply just another ‘cause and effect’ program for young children but one that will cater to older students (who love their moggie friends) and older clients, including elderly adults. Many people have pets and cat lovers particularly will be so pleased with Sarah’s many years of hard work and toil in creating such a wonderful program. Hundreds of hours, painstakingly studying cats’ movements and reactions, have been diligently and accurately portrayed throughout these scenes. At times you forget that they are animated cats!
Access to Touch Cats
This software certainly comes alive on an Interactive Whiteboard or touch capable monitors or LCD TVs. I can just see giggling and fully engaged students playing with the cats and experimenting within the environments. Input devices that are commonly used include the mouse (using drag and click), keyboard (space bar and Enter keys), single-switch, two separate switches or touch capable devices (including retro fitted touch screen systems or externally mounted Touch Window models). It could also be used with programmable keyboards (i.e. IntelliKeys) or with trackballs, joysticks and with other input interfaces/ devices (e.g. head pointing systems).
The mouse pointer colour and custom pointer can be defined as can the colour of the switch (or two switches) that appear on screen and help prompt and inform the user to press at the appropriate time.
The user can restart any one of the five activities after a set time limit has been configured in the Restart Delay options or by pressing the ‘R’ key. This may occur if the cat gets ‘stuck’ behind a chair or in an area of the screen. The Exit Method provides users with ability to return to the Picture Menu. The Picture Menu provides a visual choice of the five activity environments. The scanning speed can be set to none (just scan and select), 2, 3 or 5-second delay if the person is using a switch. There is a default ‘factory setting’ for all options, if required.
Where Do Cats Play?
After you set up all of the conditions for a user or pair, small group or class, you choose where the cats will explore and play. These include the Kitchen, Living Room, Child’s bedroom, Garden and Alleyway. They are quite generic in design and have been drawn to appeal to a wide range of users’ experiences. I think they reflect typical scenarios and accurately depict areas where cats would be found frolicking and playing.
The Garden scene is really beautiful with vibrant colour and a feature-laden environment with trees, a hedge, a pond and lawn. It also has a few surprises in store! The Kitchen and Living Rooms are accurately depicted and the Alleyway is a fascinating recreation with so many things to consider and attend to visually.
The train set in the Bedroom has to be the most inventive use of switch/touch action I’ve seen in this software genre. The innovative use of graphics and animation is so clever and the interplay between the cat and the train is cleverly animated in this particular scene.
There are subtle differences between the different modalities of touch, switch and mouse use. Multiple users can take turns and interact with the software together, learning to take turns and determine the action.
Summary – Feline Good!
The many variations with switch and scan colours, music, sound effects, vibrant backgrounds and animations provide scope for continued use over a period of time with one or more users. Users will want to explore with these delightful and playful cats as soon as you install and configure the program. Some classrooms have been using the program at one of the schools where I work part time. Comments include, “They enjoy the feedback they receive from the program”. “The movement on the screen seems to keep them very interested.” “Students react in a variety of ways – they watch the cat intently.” “Touch Cats has become the favourite, even with one girl who does not usually like using the computer. She now requests playing the program!”
Hardware Requirements
Touch Cats requires a PC running MS Windows ME, 2000, XP or Vista running on a Pentium III or better. A CD or DVD ROM drive will be required for installation. A high to good quality sound card will be required as the sound effects are of an excellent quality. The monitor must be able to display 16 to 32-bit colour in at least 1024 × 768 screen mode. The scenes and animated effects are vibrant so any higher quality video card and monitor will be a definite advantage. I suggest that you run this software on a Windows Notebook or PC that is no older than 3 or 4 years (as at December 2008).
Installation
The CD has an installable file of approximately 85MB in size. All the set-up screens are easy to follow and implement, (i.e. standard MS Windows wizard) with the program easy to follow, as it is so intuitive. An ‘Inclusive Technology’ style interface is easy to navigate and customising the program for one or more users can be performed within a less than a minute. The last settings are saved for the next session (there are no multiple user settings).
Background to the Software Developer
“Sarah Greenland is an independent developer of multimedia for people with multiple disabilities. The harder the challenge, the more motivated she becomes! She was originally employed as a software engineer/ systems analyst by various multinationals. When neuromuscular disability struck, a new phase of life began. Over the next few years Sarah worked with the medical and teaching professionals at Chailey Heritage, UK. During this time, she produced custom applications for teenagers with recent head injuries and cerebral palsy. Sarah also worked with the Handichip charity in Lewes, UK, running computer workshops for children with special needs.”
Sarah’s other popular software titles include: Touch Balloons!, K1 Kaleidoscope and Press It Now. These are all available in Australia from www.spectronicsinoz.com, in the United States www.inclusivetlc.com and in the UK from www.inclusive.co.uk. The new Touch Cats sets a very high standard – and one that will be universally applauded by many users!
Email: specmelb@bigpond.net.au Ph: 03 9894 4826 Mob: 0411 569 840Author: Gerry Kennedy © 2009