I can hardly bring myself to tell you that a new CD-ROM database has just been launched called El Cid! The name is apparently an acronym for Electronic Library Construction Information Database, and the product is designed for architects and the general construction industry. Charlton Heston was not present at the press launch.
El Cid was developed by Architech Publishing using the Philips Interactive Media Systems CD-ROM workstation. A single CD-ROM disc provides over 200,000 pages of graphic and textual technical documentation information. This is the information required by architects, building surveyors and construction organisations to ensure that they comply with British building laws, regulations and technical specifications.
Architech Publishing claim that the data for El Cid has been sourced from a wide range of organisations including the British Standards Institution, the Department of the Environment and the Timber Research and Development Organisation. The disc also contains a full thesaurus of construction industry terms and an exclusive database on over 5,000 manufacturers.
A complete end-user system with a two-year subscription to El Cid costs just under £4,000. This includes a Philips NMS 9125 PC-AT compatible with either 3.5 in or 5.25 in floppy drive, integral half-height CD-ROM drive and mouse. The database is also available on a subscription-only basis for £855 pa or £1,550 over two years. Updates are to be supplied bi-monthly. Further details from Julian Tanner, Mathieu Thomas, 8 Westminster Palace Gardens, Artillery Row, London SW1P 1RL (01-222 0833).
