Snail: Dejal Userware, 12 Scorpio Place, Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Internet & AOL: dejal@deepthnk.kiwi.gen.nz
CompuServe: >INTERNET: dejal@deepthnk.kiwi.gen.nz
or 100033,2435
I read the Internet mail every day, and will reply immediately (allow a couple of days for net.delay), but only call CI$ once a fortnight.
Shareware, only US$9.95.
Note: you should have received SndConverter Lite as a Self-Extracting Archive (.sea) file, containing the application and 4 documentation files. Any other form of distribution is illegal. Please inform Dejal Userware if you did not receive all of the files, or it wasn’t in a .sea file.
——— USAGE ———
SndConverter Lite™ is an application which allows you to convert one format of sounds to another, among other options. It is System 7-friendly, and supports Apple events (for file, folder and disk dropping), colour, sound, etc. The formats currently supported are:
• SoundEdit™ data files (Hint: you can also convert PC sounds, thanks to this format)
• System 7 sounds
• System 7 suitcases
• Sound Mover™ suitcases — this category includes applications containing sounds and HyperCard™ stacks: basically, you can extract ‘snd ’ resources from any file.
To convert a file or several files to one of the other formats, you can open the files from the Finder™. If under System 7, simply select the files to be converted and drag them to the SndConverter Lite icon (i.e. “drop the icons on the application”). I find that leaving the application on the desktop makes instant access a breeze — or you could put an alias to it there. You can even drop a folder of sounds on SndConverter Lite, and it will convert every sound within, no matter how many folders deep they are. The same goes for disks: drop a floppy icon on the application, and all its sounds will be converted (not recommended with hard disks though! <grin>) If under System 6, make sure all of the files to be converted are in the same folder as SndConverter Lite (putting them all on the desktop is the easiest way) and select them all including the application, and double-click on one of the icons. Of course, you can also use the Open… command in the File menu.
Once you have opened the file(s), you will be asked for a format to convert them to. When you click Convert, the sounds will quickly be converted, and you will be kept informed of the operation with a progress window. During this process, you can quit at any time, skip the current sound, stop the whole conversion, or switch to the Finder or another application and convert in the background. You can even drop more files on the application while in the background.
It has many behind-the-scenes features, including being able to convert to the desktop if the converted sounds can’t be saved on the same disk as the source, using the Temporary Items folder, and much more.
——— SNDCONVERTER PRO™ ———
As the name SndConverter Lite suggests, there is also another edition of the program, SndConverter Pro. The Pro edition contains many more features than the Lite edition, for example comprehensive preferences (three pages worth!!), Balloon Help, morphing (animated) icons, downsampling, fuller documentation and much more. SndConverter Pro costs $17 to register. Registered users of Lite will be able to upgrade to Pro for an as yet undecided fee, probably about the difference in price between the two.
As of this release of the Dejal Sound Utilities, SndConverter Pro 2.0 is still in Beta testing, and is due in 1 – 2 months time. I am accepting registrations for Pro now, but I suggest that if you order a disk too, you select the NEXT VERSION option rather than the CURRENT option, unless you want SndConverter Pro 1.1. (Or order both! <grin>)
Note: SndConverter Lite is NOT simply a demo of Pro: it is a fully functional application in its own right. Registering for Lite will not get you Pro. (The reverse is true though: registering for Pro entitles you to personalise Lite also.)
——— COMPATIBILITY ———
SndConverter Lite will work under System 6.0 and above, though it works best under System 7.0 and above. It should work on every machine from the Macintosh 512KE upwards, and has been tested on almost all the Macs presently available. It is 32-bit compatible.
The usual disclaimers apply: David Lambert and Dejal Userware accept no responsibility for any incidental or consequential damage of any sort as a direct or indirect result of using this software. The software is provided “as-is”, and no warranties are made as to its fitness for a particular purpose or whatever. I would be very interested to hear of any problems, though. <grin>
——— CREDITS ———
I would like to thank all those people who have made this product what it is today. Thanks especially to Michael Dunlop, Simon Aspden, Steve Moseley, Nick Warburton, Richard Knuckey, Julian Harris, Allan Marshall, David Lilienthal, Francis Martin and Craig O’Donnell for their invaluable assistance during the Beta testing stage of development, and all the other users of the Deep Thought and JAB BBSs for their comments. Thanks also to Riccardo Ettore for his wonderful Sound Manager Package and helpful comments over the years; to Apple for System sHeaven; and Symantec for THINK Pascal 4.0. Most of all, a big “thank you” to the huge number of people who have sent in their registrations, and offered kind words of encouragement.
