Connor ComputerSmarts

The ComputerSmarts was a follow-up to the VideoSmarts, released in 1987. It was more complex, ditching the simple four large buttons for a full QWERTY keyboard. The console still plugged into the VCR via the audio output jack to receive signals from the tapes. However, users were now expected to type either single letters or entire words to increase their score. Feedback came from either the small single-line LCD screen on the console, or an internal speaker, similar to VideoSmarts.[5] In addition to VHS tapes, the console had a cartridge port. It is unknown how many cartridge games were released, or if the cartridges and VHS tapes could be used at the same time. The console did have a "portable mode" that did not require a VCR, so it is possible that the cartridges were used only in that mode. It was aimed at an older audience, with the tapes claiming to be for fourth and fifth-grade children. Teachin' Teddy and his friends were replaced by two aliens, Beek and Rains, as well as a talking computer screen named DJ. It was notable for using human actors as side characters who would either help or hinder the puppets. The first of the two main VHS series, known as Word Mysteries, focused on sentence structure and parts-of-speech. It is believed that four tapes were created for this series. A second series, known as Math Skills, has at least one episode, The Power of Tens, which focuses on moving from the 'ones place' to the 'tens place,' dealing with double-digit numbers, and counting to one-hundred [1]. Boxes for the ComputerSmarts tapes show the following four planned math VHS titles: Mathematics 1: Mission Addition, Mathematics 2: Subtraction Action, Mathematics 3: Harnessing Number Power, and Mathematics 4: Pulling Numbers Apart. However, no other evidence of these four tapes has surfaced, and it is unclear whether they exist. It is notable that the only known math VHS tape is not included in the list on the tape boxes. A single ComputerSmarts cartridge, Language Arts has resurfaced alongside a prototype version of the Computersmarts console. One of the VHS tapes from the ComputerSmarts, the "Video Guided Tour" showed a set of five cartridges. Only one cartridge, Double Digits Double Trouble, had its name visible. However, even this cartridge has yet to resurface in the real world, so it is unclear whether it was actually released, or if it was only a mock-up. The back of the box for a Computersmarts console also shows the following eight titles: Solvesmart 1, Solvesmart 2, Typesmart, You Type, Calculate, Numbersmart 1, Numbersmart 2, and Music. It is notable that neither Double Digits Double Trouble nor Language Arts are listed on the official packaging. It is not clear whether the eight listed cartridges actually exist, as no photographs have surfaced.