DAVIDSON PRODUCT SAMPLER v2.0L (c) 1996, 1997 Davidson & Associates The Davidson Product Sampler is for marketing and promotion only. Duplication of any title or portions thereof for commercial purposes violates individual software providers copyright. The Davidson Product Sampler contains information on several Davidson products, as well as previews for the following titles: *Fisher-Price Dream Doll House *Fisher-Price Sing Along: Barnyard Rhythm and Moos *Fisher-Price Great Adventures Castle *Fisher-Price Great Adventures Wild Western Town *Fisher-Price Ready for School: Preschool *Fisher-Price Ready for School: Kindergarten *Fisher-Price Ready for School: Toddler *Fisher-Price Ready for School: 1st Grade *Fisher-Price Pirates *Kid Works Deluxe *Kid Phonics *Kid Phonics 2 *Kid CAD *Maurice Ashley Teaches Chess *Math Blaster Ages 4 to 6 *Math Blaster Ages 6 to 9 *Math Blaster Ages 9 to 12 *Math for the Real World *Reading Blaster Ages 4 to 6 *Reading Blaster Ages 6 to 9 *Reading Blaster Vocabulary *Spell It Deluxe *Typing Tutor 7 If you wish to exit this Sampler CD-ROM at any time, press the key. Windows 3.x is the version of Windows referred to in this Readme unless otherwise stated. ************************************************************* SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: *Windows 3.x or Windows 95 *486/66MHz or faster *8 MB RAM *256-color SVGA graphics *Double-speed CD-ROM drive *Windows-compatible sound card *Requires QuickTime 2.1 or higher: -16-bit version of QuickTime 2.1 is included with the install *************************************************************** QUICKTIME: Some of the Previews on the Davidson Product Sampler require QuickTime 2.1 or higher in order to run. QuickTime 2.1 is included with the install. You may choose to install it or not. However, if you choose NOT to install QuickTime 2.1, and do not already have QuickTime 2.1 or higher installed on your machine, you will have problems running some of the Previews included on the Davidson Product Sampler. The install will check your machine for your current version of QuickTime. If QuickTime 2.1 or higher is not already installed on your machine, you will have the option to install it at that time. You will be able to install QuickTime outside the product sampler by doing the following steps: *From the CD-ROM previews directory double-click the QuickTime install icon: -double-click the QT16inst.exe to launch the QuickTime 16-bit install. -double-click the QT32inst.exe to launch the QuickTime 32-bit install ************************************************************* COMPAQ COMPUTERS: To avoid problems when running the Davidson Product Sampler on Compaq machines while using the Compaq wallpaper, we suggest that the wallpaper be turned off or set to NONE. To change your wallpaper, go to Control Panel, Display. Refer to your Windows documentation for further details. If you still encounter a problem, try changing your display settings to 256 colors. See CHANGING YOUR COLOR DEPTH below. *************************************************************** CHANGING YOUR COLOR DEPTH The Davidson Product Sampler was designed to run in 256-colors. If you experience problems running any part of the Davidson Product Sampler, try changing your display settings to a higher color depth. To increase the number of colors in Windows 95: 1. From the START menu, go to SETTINGS 2. From the SETTINGS menu, select CONTROL PANEL 3. From CONTROL PANEL, select DISPLAY 4. A DISPLAY PROPERTIES dialogue box will appear 5. Select the SETTINGS tab at the top of the Display Properties dialogue box 6. Go to the COLOR option, and increase the number of colors To increase the number of colors in Windows 3.x: 1. From the Program Manager, double-click the Windows Setup Icon in the Main Group 2. From the Options menu on the Windows Setup box, select Change System Settings. 3. Write down the driver name displayed in the box in case you wish to change it back later. 4. Click the arrow to the far right of the word "DISPLAY". You will see a list of Video Drivers. 5. Adjacent to your current driver, you may have other drivers listed which use a higher color depth. Example: 640x480x64K may be your next highest color depth. WARNING: Only use display drivers that are compatible with your video card! Consult your Video Card documentation for more information. 6. Select the appropriate driver and click OK. 7. You will have to re-start Windows for the new settings to take effect. ******************************************************************* VIDEO DRIVERS: Some Video Drivers may cause problems when running the portions of the Davidson Product Sampler. If you experience any unusual screen activity, switch to the Super VGA (SVGA) mode. Included on your CD ROM are Updated SVGA Video Driver Files which may be helpful to you when changing your Video Driver Mode. Below are some detailed instructions on how to install a Video Driver chosen from the Video Driver Files. To Change Your Video Mode: 1. From the Program Manager, double-click the Windows Setup Icon in the Main Group 2. From the Options menu on the Windows Setup box, select Change System Settings. 3. Write down the driver name displayed in the box in case you wish to change it back later. 4. Click the arrow to the far right of the word "DISPLAY". You will see a list of Video Drivers. 5. Scroll to the bottom of the list until you see the words "OTHER DISPLAY". 6. In the dialog box type the following "D:\previews\svga" (if your CD ROM drive is other than "D" type the appropriate drive letter instead.) 7. After the driver list appears, double click on the "SUPER VGA (640x480 256 color)" entry. 8. Re-start Windows. To return to your previous driver, repeat the above steps and at step #5 scroll through the list until you find the name and the driver you previously wrote down instead of choosing "OTHER DISPLAY." After selecting your driver name press enter and follow the on-screen instructions. If you have any of the following video cards in your PC, contact your video manufacturer and ask how to get the video card to use a standard Windows driver (e.g., SVGA). ATI #9 AST STB or STB PPG Diamond* Dell Any driver using the word "MACH" *Diamond has a BBS at (408) 325-7175; you can download updated drivers including 968133.exe which may cure all ills. If you don't know what brand video driver you have, exit Windows and at C:\>, type MSD. Under 'Video' section, there may be a listing of the manufacturer of the video card or video chip installed on your computer. WARNING: Please note the brand of video driver that you are using. You may need to switch between alternate drivers. Video drivers are written for the brand of video card you are currently using, and we advise that you do not change brands of video drivers without first consulting the maker of your video card. For more information about video drivers, please consult your Windows documentation. **************************************************************** OPTIMIZING PERFORMANCE: On some PC configurations, the speed of these Previews may appear slow. To optimize the performance of your PC and increase the speed at which these demos run, try these helpful tips. 1. Turn OFF any virus scanning programs and screen savers that might be running. 2. Turn OFF ALL applications except for the 'Program Manager' (if you are running an alternate desktop, leave only your desktop program running). 3. Set screen resolution to 640x480 [Refer to your Windows guide on Running the Setup Program or Setting Up Windows] 4. Set the number of colors to be displayed to 256 (some color cards may require colors to be set at 65,536; 65,535; 64K; or 65K, depending on vendor) [Refer to the section above title CHANGING YOUR COLOR DEPTH]. If the suggestions above still do not result in satisfactory performance, you may have a fragmented disk. Use your Windows 95 Disk Defragmenter to optimize your hard drive. *************************************************************** TECHNICAL SUPPORT: For additional technical support contact Davidson & Associates Technical Support at: Technical Support Department: (800) 556-6141 World Wide Web, Address: http://www.education.com If you need additional information on any of the products on this CD, please contact Davidson & Associates. For ordering information call: In the US and Canada (800) 545-7677. In United Kingdom, CUC Software International (44-118) 9209 100. In Australia, Dataflow +61 2 9417 9710. ***************************************************************** (c)1997 Davidson & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. (c)1997 Fisher-Price Inc., a subsidiary of Mattel, Inc., East Aurora, NY 14052. Manufactured and distributed by Davidson & Associates, Inc., Torrance, CA 90503. MS-DOS(r), Windows(r), Windows(r) 95, and Microsoft(r) are registered trademarks of Microsoft(r) Corporation. Preview made with Macromedia(r) and Director(r), are trademarks of Macromedia(r), Inc. All rights reserved. QuickTime(tm) and the QuickTime(tm) logo are trademarks of Apple(r) Computer, Inc. and used under license.