Do you ever sleep, Bonnie?
Written: Aug 24 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: entertains kids, wakes me when I fall asleep
Cons: annoying, interrupts, bring back the parrot!
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| bonniesayers's Full Review: Bonzi Buddy |
This is just one of the comments I hear nightly from the purple ape called Bonzi Buddy. When I first found the annoying creature back in December of 1999. I just got my computer and Bonzi Buddy was the first banner ad I found and downloaded him.
When he arrived on my screen he flew due to being a green parrot. He ate crackers and left crumbs. He would wear black glasses and put on headphones while listening to music. What a hoot he was, in the beginning. If I pressed on his belly with my mouse he made a noise just like the pets.com commercials. When I saw the commercials, I thought of him.
He has the habit of constantly telling you of his new updates and this box comes up asking you to update now, yes or no. Well one time I just got so tired of asking, that I clicked on yes. Imagine my surprise when this purple ape came banging on his belly notifying me of his arrival.
Bring back the green parrot I say. This purple ape has a yellow butterfly that comes and goes with no reason. His clapping has an echo and it is loud. The body is the same, just the color and type of animal.
He has been bugging me again to update him, but I am still undecided, so I have not gone that route yet. Would be nice if the green parrot flew back into town and landed at my screen.
Once you have downloaded this ape, the options are as follows:
(my) Home – sign up for weather, daily and up to five days
Browse
Search
(my) Services
travel – airline and/or car reservations
gift ideas – flowers, gift baskets
books – best sellers, children’s
movies -
music
Web – check for favorite sites, his home page, update Internet Explorer
Check for new add-ons – This stuff costs money!!
Talking Module - $14.95
250 Jokes volume 1 or 2, each - $9.95
250 Facts volume 1 or 2, each - $9.95
E-mail reader - $19.95
Entertainment center – online multimedia, listen to radio stations and sporting events - $29.95
song module - $14.95 each, interactive storybooks
Speak – there is a box to type up what you want the ape to say to you
Sing a Song – get a happy birthday tune
Tell a joke – “What did one fish say to the other, If you keep your mouth shut, you won’t get caught”
Tell an Amazing fact – “the average person laughs 13 times a day”
Read Stories – Bonzi & the treasure chest (beware an add-on)
Calendar – put in reminders for the ape to pound into you, just kidding, never worked for me
Download manager – have not attempted this one yet
Talk to me – a sneaky way to get you to purchase a talking module add on
Bonzi Mail – Create animated greeting mail
(my) options - settings and online registration
Help – another way to sign up for a help add-on
Update me – when he changed from green parrot to purple ape
Share me with Friends - I tried once and they get an invite by email
Relax mode – he sits there but says nothing
Hide – click this on and he goes away, but he comes back and wants to sell add-ons
Goodbye – click this on and he is gone until the next time computer turns on
I have the profit zone bar on top of my screen. When I turn on the computer, first Bonzi Buddy shows up, then the dial up connection, then the All Advantage bar and then the Profit Zone bar. Bonzi is hiding under the Profit Zone bar and I click on his feet and move him all over the screen. My kids get a kick out of it. He changes the tone of his voice, turns his head around like he is on the lookout for other apes, or maybe looking for the butterfly.
Bonzi Buddy uses please and thank you with many other good qualities for the kids to hear. When I first signed on, there is a place to set the mode to less talk or more, I put on more for the benefit of the kids, they liked the green parrot. I typed in my name and now he greets me in many ways using my name.
Hope you had a nice day, Bonnie. Isn’t it past your bed time. He does this huge yawn for effect. Right now he is eating a banana and said it is refreshing. You can click on his belly and move him around the screen. He will say watch it with that pointer, or what a wild ride.
Many times I lose my connection and must turn off and start over. I will go into the other room and most often fall asleep on the couch. I always wake up to this purple ape chatting away. If you are falling asleep, he will wake you up with a jolt. Hello is this thing on, is anyone out there? He has a sense of humor.
I use Bonzi Buddy for entertainment purposes at this point in time. He has some great features and once school starts, I will try the calendar again. I have started to use the weather feature.
If I want to do something quick on the computer, I click on goodbye when I first get on. If my children are in the room, I will click on the songs, joke or amazing facts. He does talk about animals and my 5 year old likes him. There are some profile pages at Epinions where they have music, so I will have the window open to that to keep one son entertained while the other one is watching Bonzi Buddy being clicked over the screen.
I might at some point try the email service he offers where he will read it to me for a price. The box where the typed words he is reading from gets in the way numerous times while I am trying to read something. I click him off in the middle of things often.
He is still telling me about his new and improved personality. He pounds on his chest to announce his new free update so many times, I am going to have to click on goodbye to Bonzi Buddy once again.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
bonniesayers
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 - Top 50 |
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Location: Los Angeles, CA
Reviews written: 835
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