As a newly made vampire, you must bend to the whims of the elder vampires while trying to hold on to your remaining humanity -- a vampire who gives himself over to the beast within is lost, and a loser of this game. So try to be nice to people when possible. You also have to follow "The Masquerade," a code of rules designed to keep vampires' existence hidden. You can't feed in public and should try not to kill your victims, lest you attract unwanted attention from either your vampire masters or human law enforcement.
A role-playing scheme based on the "White Wolf" system used in many paper role-playing games lets you craft your character just as you like; your vampire can be a scrawny computer hacker, a tough brawler or anything in between. An open, non-linear design then lets you act as you choose, so long as the sun is down. -- John Breeden II
| | | | ___Personal Tech E-letter___ Washington Post personal technology columnist Rob Pegoraro answers reader e-mail and expands on themes he touches on in his weekly newspaper column. The e-mail version of this weekly feature includes links to the latest gadget and software reviews.
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Win 98 or newer, $50
KEYHOLE 2 LT, Keyhole
Keyhole 2 puts the world -- or at least many interesting parts of it -- at your fingertips. The program lets you browse 12 terabytes' worth of satellite snapshots of Earth, including most metropolitan areas in the United States and many cities overseas. All of this is presented in extraordinary detail.
The program starts you with a view of the Earth from space. Type in a Zip code or street address, and the perspective jumps up close, allowing you to pick out large landmarks. Zoom in, and you can discern streets, buildings, even finally individual cars and trees.
The oldest photographs for the Washington area date to July 2001, so unless you live in a new building, you'll likely be able to find your home. It's easy to spend an hour poking around the city, scanning neighborhoods.
Then, with the click of a mouse, you can start exploring elsewhere. Check out the Golden Gate Bridge, find Wrigley Field, follow the Grand Canyon, look at the Hollywood sign and locate the Playboy Mansion. Or go global and peer down on the Roman Coliseum, the Tower of London or Tiananmen Square. For anyone with imagination and wanderlust, the possibilities are endless.
There are practical applications for Keyhole too: You can quickly measure distances and import "image overlays" (layers of additional detail, such as satellite weather photographs). A click of a button highlights and names streets and other places of interest, such as hotels, golf courses and restaurants. (Sometimes, though, it's difficult to pick out the spot being identified).
This does cost $30 a year while Microsoft's TerraServer site (terraserver.microsoft.com) is free, but Keyhole (recently bought by Google) is also far more comprehensive and elegant. -- Anthony Zurcher
Win 98 or newer, $30/year at www.keyhole.com
