Fitzpatrick, Bruce --- "Review of: 'Understanding Company Law: Computorials'" [1996] MurdochUeJlLaw 12; (1996) 3(2) Murdoch University Electronic Journal of Law

Review of: "Understanding Company Law: Computorials"

Review by Bruce Fitzpatrick

Published by Law Book Company, with reference to the text Understanding Company Law and Corporations Law.

1. To begin the packaging clearly displays the purpose of its contents, though one must open the box to discover that the software is to be installed onto the hard drive before it can be used. This will prevent some people who are interested from using this software. As I do not have a computer myself I rely on access through the university computer laboratories from which it is not possible to run this software. My thanks go to a good friend for the opportunity to clutter his hard drive to look at this software.

2. The minimum hardware requirements to run the software as specified on the box are:
   1. a 386 SX processor;
   2. 640K RAM;
   3. 1.44 MB floppy drive;
   4. VGA monitor; and
   5. 5 MB of hard disk space.

      So if your system is a glorified typewriter with less than the specifications or is not an IBM or compatible machine some difficulties will be encountered.

   6. I found the disclaimer, license and copyright form, and a single sheet included in the box listing the conditions of use, to be disconcerting. However given the difficulty of enforcing Copyright and intellectual property rights in relation to computer software this is easily understandable.

   7. The installation instructions are clear and easy to follow, requiring only basic computer literacy to successfully install the programme. Running the Understanding Company Law computorial is simple from DOS. It can also be run through windows, however this requires one to change the virtual memory disk access that may be set for other software applications and thus may not be practical in the long run. As this review was completed on someone else's computer I was not confident with making such changes myself to check if there were any adverse effects.

   8. Commands and key strokes are clear and limited in number, not requiring the user to remember complicated combinations or a number of keys to control the programme. As the title screens flash up before the main menu there is insufficient time to read what is appearing before they have vanished, though there is nothing of real significance in these title pages anyway.

   9. From the main menu on, the graphics are visually appealing and well presented. This makes progression through the system smooth and easy to follow. Basically, there is a tutorial for each chapter of the book. When working through the tutorials, it is easy to follow along in the text and it is envisaged that one would do so, as the corresponding page numbers are located in the bottom right had corner of the screen.

   10. Under each section the tutorial goes directly to asking questions on that subject without preamble. The questions, though not difficult as such, are very specific and without the text and preferably the corporation's law as well (so that one becomes familiar with referring to both sources), one will find that the tutorials do not provide a great aid to learning. For example, questions regularly refer to the ratio of a case or require that one select the correct authority for a proposition. As a revision tool the tutorials will test the depth of one's knowledge as to detail. Being familiar with Corporations Law only means that one will be able to interpret the question, not that one will be able to breeze through the tutorials.

   11. The package is designed to work in conjunction with the text. As one works through the tutorials it is easy to move through without making notes or references, or even marking the text, which makes further revision of material covered difficult.

   12. One is able to exit from the tutorial at any time, however if this is done part way through a tutorial it is not possible to pick up where one left off, as this exits the system entirely. If one moves on by making an educated guess and completes a tutorial, the results are stored. However it is then possible to return to the menus to either begin again, or try another tutorial. One question that comes to mind, is how applicable is this material in practice? The material contained in this package appears to be geared towards the knowledge requirements of a student, and is an interesting and far less laborious method of working through a text book than any I have come across.

   13. The package is generally sound, appealing to the eye, and would provide an effective means of working through or revising material covered by the text Understanding Company Law.