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Description:
Designed "to create an everlasting account of your journey through life," this program has the pros and cons of a Hallmark "baby's first year" book. Though it puts some limits on genuine creativity, and can at times be gooey, it makes packaging memories simple.Text, images, hyperlinks, sounds, video, and any type of media you see on the Web can be entered into the My Life template. The skeleton of the program is a map of "cards"--a cover page, time lines, "Who have I been?" and so on. Each card has a subset of cards, and you can populate each card with almost any type of media or simply delete that card. For instance, you can populate the My Sexual History card with nothing more than a photo of your mate or the phone number for The National Enquirer Dateline. Each card has an introduction, which usually includes quotes or vaguely historical facts, and a number of suggested questions that range from simple prompts ("Overall, how do you treat injuries?") to schmaltz. The ick quotient includes the life wisdom of Jackson Browne and Connie Chung, as well as examples like this: "'Well, this green monster came and... uh... well... he ate all the broccoli off my plate.' Kids just say the darnedest things--don't you think? What 'funny' things would you tell your family when you were a child?" Yet the project is not an entirely unhealthy wallow in self-absorption. My Life offers this exercise on the My Friends card: "Maybe there was someone you hurt. Maybe they were odd to most of your friends. Maybe you actually liked them, but felt if would ruin your rep with your other friends? Remember this person here." That should give pause to any sullen teen or adult who has been one. Those who want to work on My Life in privacy can password protect files. The application even has a clue feature so you can prompt yourself if you forget the password. On the other hand, if My Life is a group project prepared for a family reunion, graduation, or retirement party--which seem to be some of the best possible uses--My Life can be kept wide open with everyone contributing at their own rate. --Edith Sorenson
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