tm N u S o u n d Real Digitized Sounds for Your Current Software! NuSound(tm) User's Guide Software, Guide, Cartoon, and Logos are Copyright (c) 1987-1992 by Baggs Technologies. All Rights Reserved. What Is NuSound? - NuSound replaces the DOS bell (beep) with real digitized sounds, played through your PC's internal speaker (no extra hardware required). - In the 'advanced' mode, NuSound will replace ANY sound made by your DOS programs with the digitized sound of your choice. NuSound is the ONLY sound program with this feature! - You may also play the sounds from within your batch files or from the command line. - NuSound gives you a library of more than 25, high-quality, digitized sounds and words. These sounds are in the .WAV format so you can use them in Windows 3.1 too. - NuSound plays Microsoft Windows .WAV sounds in DOS. You get an easy-to-use point-and-shoot program to view and hear the sounds. - NuSound works on just about any PC - from 486's down to 8088-based XT's (which are largely ignored by other sound players)! In short - NuSound brings multimedia-quality sound to your PC and existing software - with NO EXTRA HARDWARE NEEDED! About NuSound Since the introduction of the IBM PC and compatibles, the sound circuitry provided with these machines has been universally panned - and rightfully so. The designers of the original PC obviously did not put much emphasis on the quality reproduction of sound. The result is that for years we have been subjected to the infamous BIOS 'beep' - a raucous, obnoxious tone lasting nearly a full second in duration! Meanwhile, users of the Apple Macintosh were treated with a little more respect. The Mac allows the user to change the audible warning tone to one of several different sounds - thus allowing customization and even a little fun. And now - for the first time on a PC (drum roll please...) - Baggs Technologies presents NuSound (otherwise known as "The End of the Obnoxious Beep"). NuSound lets you replace the standard DOS 'beep' with a variety of other sounds. Baggs Technologies has been a leader in the field of sound reproduction on personal and home computers (anyone remember the Commodore 64?) and we have endowed NuSound with our latest breakthrough technology. NuSound plays real digitized sounds through your PC's internal speaker - without any extra hardware! Using NuSound INSTALLING NUSOUND: OK, you're probably eager to plunge right in and say goodbye to those awful beeps, rattles, and buzzes! Just make a directory for nusound.com and associated sound files (they have a '.wav' extension). Call it, say, NUSOUND. Copy all NuSound files into this directory. Change into this directory and type the following line: NUSOUND /R You should see the message acknowledging that NuSound is installed (the default sound is a 'boing'). That's it! NuSound will now intercept any DOS 'beeps' and replace them with the new sound. You will probably want to add the following lines to your autoexec.bat file so that NuSound is installed automatically every time you boot up (assuming your NuSound directory is C:\NUSOUND): CD C:\NUSOUND NUSOUND /R You can also playback the sound any time by pressing the hot-key, , so you don't need to wait for a program to generate a beep. When used as above, NuSound is a TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident) program that will remain in your PC's memory (until you reboot) intercepting the BIOS beep and replacing it with the digitized sound you choose. NuSound Options Right about now you've probably installed NuSound, hit the hot- key a few times for amusement, and you're wondering things like "How do I choose another sound?", and "What if I want to replace the other obnoxious sounds that some programs generate - sounds that obviously aren't the DOS beep?". We'll answer these questions and other mysteries of the universe right now. You can invoke NuSound with various options with the following command: NUSOUND [FILENAME] [/A] [/A2] [/R] [S:n] [V:n] [/?] [/Q] [/U] OPTIONS: [FILENAME] NuSound will play the sound specified by FILENAME (type the full name and extension). Example: NUSOUND TONE.WAV If the sound file is in a directory other than the current one, type the drive letter and full path for the sound file. Example: NUSOUND C:\NUSOUND\TONE.WAV /A Advanced mode - replace all sounds. Some programs generate their own sounds, bypassing the standard 'beep'. To get NuSound to intercept these types of sounds, use this option. NOTE: Test your programs first when using this option to ensure everything works OK. This option plays some heavy hardware 'tricks' with your PC - not for the sqeamish! However, we have tested this option and found it to be compatible with most popular PC software. NOTE: Not recommended for XT's and slower PC's. Works best with 20Mhz 386's and faster. /A2 Advance Mode 2 - as with Advanced mode (above), replaces all sounds. If /A does not work, try this one. The notes for /A (above) also apply to this mode. /R Resident mode - When NuSound is run with this option it will remain in memory as a Terminate & Stay Resident (TSR) program and replace the DOS beep with the sound specified by FILENAME (see above). Note that only the DOS beep is replaced. To replace other sounds (such as sounds generated within an application) you must also use one of the /A options (above). /Q Quit, Uninstall and remove from memory. (Use either /Q or /U) /S:n Speed Selection. The value n is a delay value, so larger n values slow down the playback rate. For example, a good value for n for a 20Mhz 386 is about 70. Generally, you should not need to specify this value - NuSound automatically determines the speed of your PC and attempts to set the standard playback speed. However, if your PC seems to be playing sounds too fast or slow, try modifying this value. /V:n Volume. The value n may be from 1-10. The default is around 4. /? Display Help Screen. Does not install (i.e. does not remain resident). When NuSound is Memory-Resident Since NuSound is a memory-resident program (when invoked with /R , see above) it will use up a small amount of your PC's conventional memory. The amount of memory used depends on the size of the sound file loaded. NuSound will occupy around 2K plus the size of the sound file. If, after loading NuSound, you find that you cant't run an application for lack of DOS memory, try using a smaller sound file. Also note that if you want to change a setting or use a different sound file, first unload NuSound from memory and then reload with the new options. If any of the preceding jargon has thrown you for a loop - relax - just find the nearest power user (there's one in every crowd) and ask for help. NOTE: You can also save DOS memory by loading NuSound in 'high memory' using 386Max, QEMM386, or other similar program. Other People's Sound Files Even though NuSound comes replete with a veritable plethora of sounds, we know you may have some sound files of your own that you would like to use with NuSound. Generally, NuSound can handle other types of sound files as long as they are 11Khz, 8- bit unsigned, uncompressed data. Whew! Now if you didn't understand what we just said - forget about it! You'll be just fine. Making Your PC Louder NuSound is designed to playback real digitized sounds through your PC's internal speaker - no extra hardware required! Unfortunately, not all PC's are created equal. If NuSound is not loud enough on your PC, a trip to your local Radio Shack can remedy the problem. You need: 1) the 'Mini-Amplifier-Speaker' and 2) a cable with a 1/8" phone plug on one end (plugs into Mini-Amp) and two 'alligator' clips on the other end. Remove the cover from your PC (feel free to ask your local 'power user' for help) and locate the speaker (Boy, is it wimpy!). Connect each of the two alligator clips to the leads of the speaker. You should now be able play sounds and hear them through the 'Mini- Amp'. Reassemble your PC, place the 'Mini-Amp' in a convenient spot, and adjust the volume to your taste. NEWS FLASH - some cases, such as some mini-tower cases, bury the speaker deep inside the case. In this case (pun intended) you can pull the speaker out of the case (you may need to 'splice' some longer wire) and locate the speaker near you. With this technique, you don't need to spend any $$$. Microsoft Windows Since NuSound runs under 'standard' DOS, it generally has no effect in Windows unless, of course, you are running a DOS window. When running NuSound (either from the command line, batch file, or as a TSR) from within a DOS window (that is not in exclusive, full-screen mode) you should probably specify the playback speed explicitly with the /S option. Since the sounds provided with NuSound are ".WAV" files, you can use them from within Windows (using Windows drivers). Some of the usual uses are linking different sounds to certain system events, adding a voice annotation to a spreadsheet, etc. See your Windows documentation for details. If you are interested in hearing about the nifty Windows sound products we offer - call us, write us, or tell us in the "comments" section of your registration (below) and we'll zip you a catalog. "Point-and-Shoot" Playback We include a program called SETUP.EXE to let you easily view and listen to the sounds. From within your NuSound directory, type: SETUP and hit . (Please ignore the "Install" menu option. It's intended for the diskette-based version.) Select the "Choose a Sound" option. You should see a window showing the sound files. Move the highlighted bar around with the cursor keys and hit the hear the highlighted sound. (Users with monochrome screens may have to adjust the contrast and brightness to see the highlight.) Exit at any time by pressing . If you are using NuSound in resident mode (to replace the 'beep') you can choose a different sound and have setup automatically update your autoexec.bat file. From the "Choose a Sound" option, find the sound you want, then hit to update your autoexec.bat file with the new sound. QEMM-386 and 386Max If you are using NuSound (in resident mode) with a memory manager such as QEMM-386 or 386Max (and are loading NuSound into 'high' memory), these programs typically specify a size for the resident program. If you select a new sound to replace the beep at a later point in time, NuSound's resident size will change (dependent on the size of the sound file). Therefore, it may be necessary to rerun the 'optimize' (optimize, maximize, etc.) program that came with your memory manager. See your memory manager documentation for details. Legaleze (a.k.a. The License Agreement) This software is distributed as Shareware. You may use the software for a limited evaluation period after which you should register (see below) to continue use, or stop using the software. You may copy and distribute the software - in fact, we encourage you to do so. Note that this software is not public domain, and we retain all copyrights and trademarks. The software may not be reverse-engineered or disassembled in any way. Violators will be prosecuted. Baggs Technologies disclaims liability for any damages arising from the use of this product. Our Commitment Baggs Technologies is committed to providing "No-Extra-Hardware- Needed" multimedia products to the PC. If you enjoy this product please help us continue to bring you more by registering. See the 'Registration' section below. tm Look for these other fun "No-Extra-Hardware-Needed" multimedia products on your favorite BBS: tm PC Talker For Windows 3.x! PC Talker is a text-to-speech program - just type any text and PC Talker will say it through your PC's speaker. Or have PC Talker speak from a text file or even use in your batch files. Since PC Talker's vocabulary is virtually unlimited it can say anything: your name, your company's name, email, phone numbers - use your imagination! tm AskTut For Windows 3.x! Ask Tut 'yes-or-no' type questions and he will give you his answer. Like having your own personal psychic or "executive decision maker". Full color graphics and high quality voice responses! Registration If, after the initial evaluation, you continue to use NuSound, please register by sending $20 to the address below. In fact, please allow us to tell you about the Joys of Registering: - You get product update information. - You get cheerful technical support. - You get notified of new product releases. - We create more neat programs for you! NAME ____________________________________________________________________ ADDRESS ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ PHONE ____________________________________________________________________ COMMENTS____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ Send to: Baggs Technologies P.O. Box 1827 Fort Collins, CO 80522