Sitting on the Farm/FARM.bin/readme.txt

Text File | 1993-03-04 | 17KB | 395 lines

Sitting on the Farm - Print/Read Me File
c 1994 - Sanctuary Woods Multimedia Corporation

1994/03/01

Thank you for purchasing "Sitting on the Farm". If you're
reading this file, then you've already got the CD-ROM in the drive, so
you're ready to begin.

Getting Started:

If your CD-ROM drive is external, you will need to attach a speaker to
this drive as well as to the computer.  If you have an internal CD-ROM,
make sure it is attached to your sound card.

You must have  [MCI] CD-Audio and [MCI] Sound drivers installed.  To add
either of these drivers, Choose Main/Control Panel/Drivers/Add.  Then,
choose the driver from the list.  If the driver hasn't been installed
before, you will be prompted for disks.  After installing, the system
must be rebooted before you  run the program.

Ensure that you have a SoundBlaster compatible sound card, with
microphone.

The display mode must be set to 256 colors at a resolution of at least
640 x 480 pixels.  For more information on changing the display mode,
consult your Windows documentation.

"Sitting on the Farm" requires that the "Arial" TrueType font be installed
into Windows.  The "Arial" font comes supplied with your Windows 3.1
system disks. Use the Fonts option in the Control Panel to install this
font if it is not already present in your system. Refer to your Windows
documentation for additional information on how to install TrueType fonts.

We suggest that you turn off background printing (use the Control Panels)
in order to see any system messages that occur while in the program.

If you are running any networking software, and experience problems
playing sounds or music, then disable the network software while running
"Sitting on the Farm".

Quit all other programs (except Windows itself) before installing or
running "Sitting on the Farm".  Please turn off all screen savers when
running "Sitting on the Farm".

Installing Sitting on the Farm:

Under File Manager, select your CD-ROM drive.  Double click on the
setup.exe file.

After installation, an "I_Learn" folder will exist on your system.  In
it you will find three icons: Farm-English, Farm-French and Farm-Spanish.
Double click on any of these icons to enter the program in the selected
language.  (You can change languages from the Main Menu too.)

Deinstalling Sitting on the Farm:

To deinstall all files associated with "Sitting on Farm", double click
on the remove.exe application.

Solving Technical Problems

We have tested "Sitting on the Farm" on many hardware configurations.
A trouble-shooting chart is included in the package to answer the most
common technical questions we have encountered.

If you require more technical assistance, call our support team between
8 am and 5 pm Pacific Standard time at [phone].  Please
document your problem, and have your registration information ready
when you call.

***********************
Notes on PROGRAM OPTIONS
***********************

The Program Options screen can be accessed by clicking on the OPTIONS
button on the French, English or Spanish Main Menu.  Parents or teachers
may control the following features of the program from this area.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADJUSTING VOLUME
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Volume Bar on the left hand side of the Options screen allows you to
adjust  the playback volume of program voices and sound effects. To
increase the volume, drag the bar up.  To decrease the volume, drag the
bar down.

You can also use the numbers from 1 to 7 on your keyboard to adjust
program volume at any point in the program (not just on the Options
screen).  The lowest volume can be set by typing a '0' (zero), and the
highest volume can be set by typing a '7' (seven).

In a noisy environment, the volume should be set at seven.  In a quiet
environment, a volume setting of five is acceptable.  Volume levels will
vary with hardware. For more details, contact your sound card
manufacturer.  A list of popular models, with technical support telephone
numbers, is provided at the end of this document.

NOTE:  The Volume Bar does not control the volume of the music that is
played from the CD in Sing Along mode.  Use the dial on the CD player,
the volume control on your external speaker or the control on your sound
card  to control the volume of audio playback from the CD.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
LIMITING CHILDREN'S ACCESS TO PROGRAM FEATURES
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Depending on the ability level(s) of children who will be using the
program, you may want to limit access to certain program features.
The following features can be turned on or off through the program
options screen.

  Squirrel Animations (Ecureuil anime/Animaciones de la ardilla)

  Magnified Animal Animations (Grossissement des animaux/
      Animaciones amplificadas de los animales)

  Vocabulary Labels (Etiquettes/Etiquetas para el vocabulario)

  Recording (Enregistrement/Grabando)

The settings for these features in all languages are saved and will
remain set until the next time the program is accessed on the same
computer.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
SETTING A PASSWORD
------------------------------------------------------------------------
When you first use Sitting on the Farm, a password is not required to
access the Program Options.  However, you might want to add a password
so that children can't access these program controls.
To add a password, follow these steps:

1.  Click on the SET PASSWORD button on the options screen.

2.  Enter a password THAT YOU WILL REMEMBER as prompted by the system.

Now, any time that you attempt to access the Program Options on the same
computer, you will be asked to enter this password.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
REMOVING A PASSWORD
------------------------------------------------------------------------
To remove the password, follow these steps:

1.  Click on the SET PASSWORD button.

2.  Enter your original password as prompted.

3.  Hit the RETURN or ENTER key on the keyboard when prompted for a new
       password.  This is interpreted as 'no password' by the program.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
To re-establish the program default of no password, follow these steps:

1.  Find the 'SOTFPREFS' file in the File Manager
       (c:\windows\I_Learn\SOTF\SOTFPREF)

2.  Select the file and delete it.

3.  Start up Sitting on the Farm again.  Now if you click on the OPTIONS
       button on the main program menu, you will not be asked for a
       password and the original (default) program options will be in use.

****************
Notes on RECORDING
****************

The option to record is available in many locations within the program.
Although this feature is quite fun as well as beneficial, users must be
warned that the "recorded voice files" can take up an enormous amount of
disk space on the hard drive.

The length of a recording is limited to 30 seconds.  The recording
dialogue box will not disappear after this time has elapsed, but if the
user chooses to SAVE after more time has passed, only the first 30
seconds will be stored.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
PROPER STEPS FOR RECORDING
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Due to the potential for unknowingly filling a hard drive to its limit,
it isimperative that these steps are followed when the recording feature
is utilized:

1.  Click on the microphone button.
       (this will bring up the recording dialogue box)

2.  Think about what you're going to say.  Then, when you're ready,
       click on the RECORD button inside the recording dialogue box.

3.  Click on the SAVE button, or hit the RETURN or ENTER key,
       immediately after you have finished speaking.
       (the recording dialogue box will then disappear)

4.  Back on the regular program screen, click on the speaker button to
       hear what was recorded.

The following list summarizes the minimum disk space that is utilized for voice that is
properly recorded in different areas of the program:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
AVERAGE FILE SIZES
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Single Word:
e.g. pants = 18 K

Prompt:
e.g. Choose 8 things on the girl = 32 K

Phrase:
e.g. Sitting on the farm, happy as can be.
I had a little bug on my knee.            = 54 K

Squirrel Question:
e.g. What kind of hat is the bug wearing? = 54 K

Magnified Animation:
e.g. The bug is crawling up the girl's leg. = 44 K

Singing:
(each full verse in Sing-Along mode) = 314 K

------------------------------------------------------------------------
DELETING RECORDED VOICE FILES
------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are two ways that large voice files can be deleted in order to
create more free space on a hard drive.

1.  From the Sitting on the Farm OPTIONS Screen

a.      On the Main Menu, click on the OPTIONS button.

b.      On the Options screen, click on the TRASH CAN button.

c.      In the list of names, click on the name of the child whose files
             you want to delete. (his or her name should appear in the
             the bottom text window)

d.    Check off 'voice' if you only want to remove files, but want to
             leave the child's name in the list.  Check off "name" if
             you want to remove both the files, as well as the student's
             name from the list.

e.    Click on DELETE to remove the files (and name, if selected).

f.    Repeat the previous steps in order to delete more files, if
             necessary.  Otherwise, click on DONE to return to the
             Options screen.


2.  By removing the program

If you have many voice files to remove, you might find it faster to
remove the entire program and reinstall.

To deinstall all files associated with "Sitting on Farm", double click
on the remove.exe application.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
BENEFICIAL ACTIVITIES FOR RECORDING
------------------------------------------------------------------------
If the recording option can be managed by a parent or teacher, it is
highly recommended that children are encouraged to record themselves
through the following activities.

In Read Along Mode:

1.  Children can record their voices in order to evaluate their reading
skills as well as pronunciation in French, English or Spanish.

2.  Children can also be encouraged to record themselves telling their
own stories to go along with the pictures.

3.  Teachers or parents can record themselves reading the story.
Children can then click on the speaker button in order to hear a
familiar voice reading the story.

In Sing Along Mode:

(4)    In order to evaluate beginning singing abilities, children can
record themselves singing the lyrics along with an instrument playing
the melody.

(5)    For more advanced singers, children can record themselves
carrying along the melody with only the background rhythm being played
from the CD.

(6)    Children can also bring their own instrument to the computer
(e.g. a recorder), and record themselves playing along with another
instrument or background rhythm.

********************************
Notes on MEMORY, SPEED and DISK SPACE
********************************

Depending on how your system is set up, you might experience memory
problems on computers with only 4 MB of RAM.  On the other hand, you
can take advantage of additional memory available in computers with more
than 4 MB of RAM.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
USING THE PROGRAM WITH LIMITED MEMORY (4 MB RAM)
---------------------------------------------------------------------

You will know that you are experiencing memory problems if the hard
drive is beingaccessed frequently (the drive light is flashing.)
If you have insufficient RAM, your computer will give you an error
message saying: "This program is out of memory and can't continue..."

Sitting on the Farm requires a minimum of 8MB of physical and/or virtual
memory allocated to Windows to operate properly.

If you have less than 8 MB of physical RAM on your computer, you can
still run the program, but you must enable Virtual Memory first.

To enable Virtual Memory:

1. Double-click the Control Panel icon in the Program Manager.

2. Double-click the 386 Enhanced or 486 Enhanced icon in the control
     panel (depending on your machine).

3. Click the gray "Virtual Memory" button to open the Virtual Memory
     window.

4. Click the gray "Change" button, to modify the current settings.

5. We recommend that you set the type to "Permanent", and that you
     leave the "New Size" as is automatically set by Windows for your
     particular machine.

6. You will be asked "Are you sure you want to make changes to Virtual
     Memory Settings?" Click YES or hit <enter> to confirm.

7. Exit Windows and reboot your machine before running Sitting on the
     Farm.


---------------------------------------------------------------------
IMPROVING PROGRAM SPEED
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Sitting on the Farm is designed to utilize the full capabilities of your
computer and CD-ROM player.  Depending on the model of your computer and
CD-ROM drive, you might notice delays in the load time from the CD.
You can ensure the most efficient  performance of the program by
following these recommendations:

*     Don't run other applications while running Sitting on the Farm.

*     Turn off Background Printing.

*     Close all other programs, TSRs and turn off any networking
          software before starting Sitting on the Farm.


---------------------------------------------------------------------
DISK SPACE UTILIZED BY PROGRAM FILES
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Although the majority of the program is stored on the CD, some
Sitting on the Farm files will need to be stored on the hard drive at
some point.  The disk space required for these files are as follows:

* English Sing Along: 1.2 MB
* French Sing Along:  1.2 MB
* Spanish Sing Along: 1.2 MB


---------------------------------------------------------------------

You should have the latest version of your video card's Windows driver.
If you are unsure, use the following table to contact your Video Card
manufacturer or contact your computer vendor.

Video Card Manufacturer     BBS                        Tech Support         Main #
Ahead Systems               [phone]             [phone]       [phone]
ATI Technologies            [phone]             [phone]       [phone]
Boca Research               [phone]             [phone]       [phone]
Diamond                     [phone]             [phone]       [phone]
Headlands                   n/a                        [phone]       [phone]
Hercules                    [phone]             [phone]       [phone]
National Design             [phone]             [phone]       [phone]
Orchid Technology           [phone]             [phone]       [phone]
Trident Microsystems        [phone]             [phone]       [phone]
Tseng Labs                  [phone]             [phone]       [phone]
Video 7                     n/a                        [phone]       [phone]
Western Digital  Paradise   [phone]             [phone]       [phone]

Note to Orchid Farenheit 1280 video card owners:  A problem was found
in drivers prior to 5.11. This problem is fixed with driver 5.11.
Please contact  Orchid for a free upgrade, or call the Sanctuary Woods
Technical Support Department.