Having fun with your computer is easy to do no matter what your area of interest. If you haven't discovered how to have fun with your computer yet, or you would like to find more ways to have fun, this article is for you.

There are zillions of things you can do to have fun with your computer. Over the past year in Computer Times, we reviewed all sorts of fun software packages that do everything from play games with you to help you release your creative spirit.

Design software lets you create your own greeting cards, invitations, announcements, calendars, address books, signs, certificates, bookmarks, labels, business cards, and much more. Art software lets you create professional quality art for more sophisticated projects. To enhance your creative artwork, you can use photos of yourself and loved ones. Both color scanners and digital cameras are within the price range of most computer users. A scanner lets you scan your photographs into your computer, while a digital camera lets you take an unlimited number of snapshots to load directly into your computer (no processing required). If you cannot afford a scanner or camera, there are several copy shops that will scan your photos for you, or your photo processor can deliver digital images to you from standard film. If you already own a video camera, you can use a variety of video cards that let you use your video camera to input still images or movie images into your computer. You can then use the videos with a low-cost video e-mail software package for fun over the Internet.

If you are interested in your family genealogy, digital snapshots can greatly enhance a family tree database. Using software like Personal Font, you can even have your own handwriting turned into a custom font for your computer so all your notes about the family are printed in your handwriting. This can add a nice personal touch to a computerized printout. You probably won't find this product in stores, so go to their Web site at

http://www.signaturesoftware.com .

For the closet architect who loves to design things, there is low-cost software to help you design like the experts and will let you see your trees and bushes grow as your house ages on the computer. You can view your landscapes in any simulated season you choose (spring, summer, fall, winter) to see how it will look during the year.

If music is more your interest, you can turn your computer into a karaoke machine, a synthesizer, or have your computer teach you how to play the music yourself on your own instruments. If traveling is your hobby, your computer can help you plan your trips. Couch potatos will find TV Guide online, soap opera Web sites, and a variety of other entertainment sites on the Internet.

So far, we haven't even mentioned games. No matter what your interest, there are games to suit you. There are card games, board games, crossword puzzles, logic and strategy games. We haven't even scratched the surface of having fun with your computer. All you need to do is read the Computer Times Editor's Choice reviews to open up all sorts of fun possibilities.

If you connect with other computers via the Internet, you open the door to an unending world of fun. A great game playing Web site, that lets you play games with people from all over the world, is http://www.zone.com. At this site, you will find everything from bridge to chess, and it's all free. A couple of other free Web sites that let you win cool things are:

• Computer Times Contest - Simply provide your favorite Web site and maybe win some nice software or hardware.

http://computertimes.com/contest.htm

• Publishers Clearing House - Special prizes for Internet entries.

http://www.pch.com/

Till next month . . .

Happy Computing!

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