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Details and technical assistance for the PC User Offline CD-ROM.
About our CD-ROM and Easy Install
About our CD-ROM
The PC User Offline CD-ROM runs entirely from a Web browser. You do not have to 'on' the internet to take advantage of this. You don't even have to have web browser installed on your computer as a version Microsoft's Internet Explorer has been pre-installed directly on the CD.
These Web pages provide a sneak preview of our Web site, with the added bonus of providing 600Mb or more of software each month. No downloading required. Wherever possible hotlinks are provided that allow you to install or run the software directly from the browser interface (if you are using MS Internet Explorer)
From these Web pages, you can go to the PC User Online or one of the many other Web sites hyperinked on the CD for the latest information (if you have an Internet connection, of course). Jumping to our Web site from the PC User Offline Web pages also means that you don't have to download many of the graphics on our Web site -- meaning it will load faster.
Disclaimer
We have tested this CD-ROM and taken every care to scan for viruses and ensure the programs on this CD-ROM work as promised. However, Australian PC User cannot be held responsible for any damage to your system caused directly or indirectly by any software on the PC User Offline disc. Also, we cannot provide tech support for any of the third-party software on PC User Offline.
The Web pages on PC User Offline are best viewed with with MS Internet Explorer 3.0 or greater, and have also been been tested with Netscape Navigator 3.0. We cannot guarantee it will look the best in any other browser, though it should still display accurately enough for you to use provided the browser supports frames.
Users follow the Internet links on the CD-ROM at their own risk. PC User takes no responsibility for any offensive sites that the user might encounter.
System requirements
The PC User Offline Web browser will run on any machine that can run Windows 95 or 3.1 and has a CD-ROM drive.
To run PC User Offline comfortably you need at least a 486DX2/66 with 8Mb of RAM, a double-speed CD reader and video running at 640 by 480 or 800 by 600 resolution at least at 256 colours (16-bit or 24-bit resolution is recommended).
Individual programs and demos included on the disc have their own system requirements, which may be higher.
First time installation
In Windows 95, select Run from the Start button menu, then run the file SETUP.EXE in the root directory of your CD-ROM drive (usually D:). Windows 3.1 users run the same file using the Run command in Program Manager's File menu.
This Setup program installs only an icon file to your hard disk -- the PC User Offline interface runs straight from the CD.
Once you have installed the icons you can double click to launch the PCUSER.EXE file. This simply loads the pre-installed version of MS Internet Explorer (MSIE) off the CD with the opening screen loaded. This version of MSIE is the latest 16-bit version for Windows 3.1 and will therefore run under either Windows 3.1 or Windows 95. It has Marcomedia's Shockwave plug-in preconfigured so that you can use the animated NavBar which was created using Shockwave. This NavBar gives you easy acces to all the sections of the CD.
If you want to use the 32-bit version of MSIE, or a version of Netscape to view the contents of the CD you can. These are even provided on the CD. You will need to also install the Shockwave plug-in , however to get the full effect. This also in provided on the CD in the Tools folder. We recommend you simply load the INDEX.HTM file from the \offline folder on the CD and then bookmark this so you can easily launch it next time. This will be the same for all future PC User Offline CD's.
Wherever possible we have unzipped all shareware and demos and provided a hyperlink that will run its setup routine directly.
Some programs however do not come with an install routine. In these cases you will need to launch Win 95 Explorer or Win 3.1 File Manager so you can copy the files to your hard disk manually. Check out the Readme file accompanying any such program to see if there are any special installation instructions.
Other program (especially DOS mode Games) may not install or run correctly under Windows - even Windows 95. So while we may provide a hyperlink to run or install a DOS program, we cannot guarantee this will work on all systems. If this happens on your system we recommend you exit to DOS mode and try from there.
Known problems
Okay, here's where we come clean. Here are the potential problems with our CD-ROM that we know about:
- There are some problems with broken graphics and links when using Netscape Navigator to view the Web content. While everything appears to work fine Netscape seems to forget where things are as you switch between pages. This is related to the way Netscape handles frames. You can avoid this by using the 'no frames' menu at the bottom of each page, or by pressing the reload button for each new page. This does not occur with MS Internet Explorer.
- If you click an image thumbnail to view the full size version, but receive an error message that the path is incorrect and the file cannot be found, this may be because your CD-ROM drive is too slow for the on-disc browser to load the image. In this case we recommend you install the appropriate version of MS Internet Explorer (for Windows 3.1 or Win95) to your hard disk and use this. You will find these in the \TOOLS directory on the CD. Or you can install it from the present browser in the Software\Online Tools section.
Beta testers, please!
We've worked hard testing and retesting this CD-ROM, however we won't pretend that it's perfect. Software can always be improved -- and we'd like to do so as soon as possible. Please let us know if you've found a problem, or even if you have some suggestions.
Tech support, broken discs, etc
What we can help you with. We are happy to provide written technical support for the software created by Australian PC User, but unfortunately we cannot provide telephone support or any support for the third-party software on this disc, including Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. PC User software includes the Easy Install program and the PC User Offline Web pages.
Third-party software. If you need technical support for any of the third-party software you will need to contact the developer of that program. You will find details about the developer either in the program’s Help menu or a document file (usually named Readme) accompanying the program.
Damaged discs. We will, of course, exchange damaged discs. Just send the disc and a note with your name and postal address, to PC User Disc Exchange, GPO Box 4088, Sydney NSW 1028.
Contact information. For suggestions and technical support of PC User software, write to Philip Moore at PC User, GPO Box 4088, Sydney NSW 1028, e-mail him at pmoore@acp.com.au or send a fax to him on (02) 9267 4909. Please include full details about your system and any error messages you have encountered while running our disc.
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All text © 1997 Australian Consolidated Press - PC User Magazine