Copyright: Copyright ©1999
Citation: Singing Electrons, Inc.


About Singing Electrons

Singing Electrons, Inc., is a world leader in the development of applications, drivers, VxDs, and other software for Microsoft Windows and Linux. Our clients include Acer, AT&T, Autodesk, Broderbund, Disney Software, Logitech, Lucasfilm Games, Mitsumi, NEC, OPTi, QSound, Samsung, VLSI, and many others.

Our expertise in systems level software development has enabled us to create a line of multimedia products for end users that go far beyond other products. These include sound enhancement programs, wave and MIDI editors, and sound effect generators.

Our Services Include the Following:

Multimedia Audio Drivers

DirectSound and DirectSound3D drivers and apps

WDM drivers

USB hardware, firmware, and drivers

Rapid Application Development and Prototyping

Real time applications and drivers

Digital Signal Processing

Linux drivers

Communications Drivers and Protocols

DMA Programming, including full duplex DMA, for both ISA and PCI

File System, Keyboard, and Printer Hooks

Detection and direct programming of non-Intel CPUs

Hardware Emulation and Contention Management

Security and Locking Products

Our Products Include the Following:

MailMagic provides instant messaging for anyone with a POP-3 e-mail account.

Ventriloquist throws your voice across  the internet

AudioMagic EQ improves the sound of your PC!

WebEQ adds EQ (equalization) to web audio

Wave Creator is a complete wave editing solution

VoiceSFX transforms sounds to make and enhance sound effects

Audio Control Center is a complete stereo rack program

MIDIMaster is a MIDI player and mixer

Recent Projects:

AudioMagic - A unique product that improves CD, wave, streaming, and DirectSound audio on your PC. Soon to be released at our web site.

VLSI/QSound- Windows NT and 9x drivers for the VLSI Thunderbird PCI audio chipset currently being distributed by Aztech.

Powerleap Products- NT driver and Win 95 VxD and Windows application for detecting and allowing the user to configure non-Intel (AMD, Cyrix, etc.) CPUs.

Leapfrog Toys- tools to edit, process, and compact audio data used in ROM-based stand-alone games.

Standard Microsystems Corporation (SMC)- hardware, firmware, and software for a USB audio device

Advanced Medical Information Technology- Win 9x, NT, and Linux drivers for a proprietary multiport serial board used in medical and industrial applications.

AT&T- WATSON Voice Control for Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator uses AT&T’s WATSON speech recognition and text-to-speech engine to voice-enable Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator. Version 1.0 is currently shipping on NEC and AST computers; version 1.1 is in retail channels.

OPTi/ECTIVA- Win NT and 95 driver development for new audio chipset.

Acer - SoftQ for Windows 95 and 3.1 applied QSound Labs, Inc.’s patented 3D audio enhancement to digital and CD audio in real time using the host CPU for processing.

Samsung- Windows Multimedia Audio drivers for the Samsung OmniWave General MIDI audio chipset.

For More Information:

Visit our website at www.singingelectrons.com or send us an e-mail at info@singingelectrons.com.


Checking Mail with MailMagic

Once you have configured MailMagic, checking your mail is convenient, easy, and fun to do.

Checking Your Mail

To begin checking your mail with MailMagic, press the Start Checking button. MailMagic will connect to your POP e-mail server, log in, and determine if you have any new mail. If Disable Checking When Disconnected is off, MailMagic will first dial your modem in order to connect to the internet (if necessary) using the dialup account you specify in Connection Settings.

If you have new mail, MailMagic will download the message summaries and announce that you have new mail. If you don't have any new mail, MailMagic won't announce anything at all. Either way, MailMagic will disconnect from the mail server as soon as it is done checking your mail. This process will repeat itself at the time interval you specify in the Check Mail Every box (see Checking Frequency) until you tell the program to stop checking.

Stopping MailMagic

To stop MailMagic, click the Stop Checking button and MailMagic will stop checking your mail.


Connection Settings

MailMagic's Connection Settings are accessible by clicking the Settings button on the main MailMagic window and then selecting the Connection Settings tab. These settings control how MailMagic connects to your e-mail account, and must be configured properly in order for MailMagic to function.

Connecting Method: If you connect over a Local Area Network (LAN), select the LAN button. Otherwise, select the Dialup button and choose a dialup account from the drop-down menu -- MailMagic will use your internet dialup connection when checking mail.

Disable Checking When Disconnected: If this button is enabled, MailMagic will not attempt to check your mail if you have not already established a dialup connection to your ISP (in other words, if you are not already connected). If this button is off, then MailMagic will attempt to connect to your ISP using your dialup adapter.

Automatically Disconnect After Checking: If your dialup account was established by MailMagic while checking your mail (see Disable Checking When Disconnected, above), then turning this button on tells MailMagic to disconnect after it is done checking your mail. If this button is off, then MailMagic will not disconnect for you. Also note that regardless of the state of this button, MailMagic will never terminate a dialup connect that it did not make itself -- if you manually establish the dialup connection, MailMagic will not hang up for you.


Contacting Us

General Inquiries: 	info@singingelectrons.com

Technical Support: 	support@singingelectrons.com

Website:	www.singingelectrons.com


Installation

To install MailMagic, run the installation file that you downloaded or received on disk, and follow the on-screen instructions.

If you need help with this please consult your computer manual or send an e-mail to support@singingelectrons.com.


Introduction
Welcome to MailMagic!

Would you like to know, almost instantly, whenever you get a new e-mail message? Would you like your computer to read your message summaries aloud to you, so you know what your messages are about even from across the room? Want a way to delete spam before ever downloading it? MailMagic is capable of all this and more, providing an excellent way to track and prioritize incoming e-mail and reduce the clutter and security risks of spam. And since MailMagic runs quietly in the background, it's much easier than dealing with your full e-mail program.

How Does MailMagic Work?

MailMagic automatically checks your e-mail account, at an interval you specify, whenever you're logged onto a network. Whenever new messages arrive, the program displays a window giving the sender and subject line. If you have voice recognition installed on your computer it will even speak the information out loud! If the message is important and you want to download the full text, you can simply run your normal e-mail program (Eudora, Outlook Express, etc.) to get the message. Or, if the message is clearly spam, you can simply press the Delete button and MailMagic will remove the message from the mail server before you ever have to look at it!

Learning to Use MailMagic

The best way to learn how to use MailMagic is to go through the topics in the help file in sequential order. These topics cover configuring MailMagic, checking your mail, and obtaining further technical support if needed. To go through these topics in order, go to the [image] and open the first book, entitled Welcome to MailMagic.

Quick Help

If you would like quick help with a particular button or feature, try our [image] feature.

Copyright (C) 1999, Singing Electrons, Inc. - http://www.singingelectrons.com


Obtaining a Speech Engine

In order to take advantage of MailMagic's speech capabilities, you must have a speech engine installed on your computer. To obtain a free speech engine that works with MailMagic, please visit our website:

http://www.singingelectrons.com/store/?url=speech

Our website provides all the instructions you should need download and install the speech engine.


Quick Help

Click on an area of the screenshot below for information on that particular feature.


Requirements

MailMagic requires an IBM compatible PC running Windows 95/98, 2000, or NT 4.0 with a working Soundblaster® compatible sound card. A text-to-speech (TTS) engine must be installed in order for MailMagic to be able to speak your messages. The program requires at least 800 x 600 resolution, and 16 million colors are recommended for proper display.

You'll also need a current POP-3 e-mail account, though a future version of MailMagic may support web-based e-mail services like Hotmail.


Speech Configuration

The Speech Configuration screen allows you to select a type, speed, and pitch for the voice that MailMagic uses to communicate with you. Note: you must have a speech engine installed on your computer in order to take advantage of speech in MailMagic.


Starting MailMagic

To start MailMagic under Windows 95/98/NT, simply click its icon in the Singing Electrons section of the Programs list in the Start Menu (assuming that you selected the default icon location when you installed MailMagic), or run the file MailMagic.exe from the directory where you installed the program.


Technical Support

Stuck? Have a question that the help files don't answer? Here are some additional resources that are available:

The readme.txt file that came with this installation (look in the directory where MailMagic is installed)

Online support at our website: http://www.singingelectrons.com/support/

If these don't do the trick, Singing Electrons offers free e-mail based technical support for all our MailMagic customers. Send an e-mail to support@singingelectrons.com fully describing the nature of your problem, and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.


The Connection Status Window

The Connection Status Window can either be enabled or disabled with the Connection Status swtich. When enabled, this window will show you the real-time status of your connection. Information displayed includes how many messages you have, connection time, and the time of the next connection.

This window will also display any error messages sent back from the POP host (this window will appear even if you have the Connection Status Window disabled). If you click the Continue button for an error message, MailMagic will retry whatever it was doing when it encountered the error. If you press Cancel, MailMagic will quit what it is doing and display the main program window again.


User Information

The User Information settings allow you to configure MailMagic to work with your e-mail account. These settings should have been assigned to you by your Internet Service Provider (ISP). If you are unsure of this information, check the configuration options of whatever e-mail client you use (Outlook Express, Eudora, etc.) and you should be able to locate the necessary information. Otherwise, get in touch with your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or check the documentation they sent you when you first signed up.

Changing the User Information

To enter or change your user information, click on the Change User Information button. This will bring up a window where you can enter the appropriate information in three text fields: user name, password, and POP host.

User Information Fields

MailMagic needs to know three things before it can start checking your mail for you:

User Name: The user name associated with your e-mail account. If your e-mail address is bobsmith@nowhere.com, then your user name is simply 'bobsmith'. Don't enter the domain name here ('nowhere.com').

Password: The password for your e-mail account. (Note: the password will be hidden as you type it.)

POP Host: The address of the host computer that sends your e-mail to you. This is usually something like 'mail.somewhere.com'.

Example: 	User Name: bob

Password: bobspassword

POP Host: mail.mailhost.com


User Information Buttons

These buttons allow you to enter and edit your User Information. To begin editing these fields, click on Change -- you are then free to make changes to the three User Information fields (user name, password, and POP host) as desired. If you want to keep these changes, click Save and your changes will be recorded; otherwise click Cancel and they will be discarded.


www.singingelectrons.com

Clicking the www.singingelectrons.com button will open your web browser and take you directly to the Singing Electrons website. Our website provides free software downloads, a software store of our retail products, audio discussion groups, documents relating to the theory behind audio technology, and online support for our customers.


Start/Stop Checking

This button starts and stops MailMagic from checking your mail. See Checking Mail with MailMagic for further information.


Checking Frequency

MailMagic cannot remain connected to your POP-3 e-mail account permanently. Instead, MailMagic will check your mail for you at a time interval that you specify in the Check Mail Every drop-down dialog box. You may have MailMagic check your mail every 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 60 seconds, 5 minutes, or 10 minutes. If your connection is slow, it may be necessary to avoid using the 10 second (and perhaps 30 second) interval, for reasons of speed.


General Settings

MailMagic's General Settings are accessible by clicking the Settings button on the main MailMagic window and then selecting the General tab. These settings control how MailMagic behaves while checking your mail.

Play a Sound: MailMagic will play a default Windows sound whenever it detects new mail.

Read Message Summary:  MailMagic will read the From and Subject lines of all new e-mail out loud. This option requires that a speech engine be installed on your computer.

Display Message Summary: MailMagic will display a window showing the From and Subject lines of your new messages.

Dock to the Taskbar While Checking Mail: If this is selected, MailMagic will automatically minimize itself and dock to the taskbar when you start checking mail. Use this option if you want MailMagic to run quietly in the background while you work on other tasks.


The New Messages Window

The New Messages window will display a list of all messages that you have waiting on your mail server. These messages are displayed vertically with older messages at the top of the list. The left hand column displays each message's sender, while the right hand column displays the subject of the message.


Upgrading MailMagic

If you have the free version of MailMagic, you may wish to upgrade to the full retail version (which includes many more features than the free version) at http://www.singingelectrons.com.


Connection Status

If this button is on, MailMagic will keep the Connection Status window displayed at the bottom of the MailMagic window. Leave this window open if you are having trouble checking your mail and would like to get an idea of what is going wrong, or if you are just curious about when MailMagic will next your mail, how many messages you have on the server, etc.


The System Tray Icon

The System Tray is a small panel, usually located in the bottom right corner of your screen, that displays icons for a variety of programs that are running on your system (usually in the "background", meaning that they generally run minimized and you often hardly know that they're running at all). Typical system tray applications include things like scheduling applications, your computer's volume control, etc.

A typical System Tray

When MailMagic is checking mail, it will place an icon in your computer's System Tray (it's the icon that looks like a little blue envelope). Double-clicking on this icon will bring the main MailMagic window to the foreground; right-clicking on this icon gives you a variety of options to control how MailMagic behaves:

Configuration

Displays the Settings dialog box.

Change SpeakMode

Displays a dialog box that will allow you to make configuration changes to your speech engine, if present.

Speak Message Summary

Will force MailMagic to display the New Messages window (if it's not already displayed) and read your messages to you (assuming that you have a Speech Engine installed).

Stop Speaking

Click this if MailMagic is currently speaking your messages out loud and you would like the program to stop doing so.

Help

Displays this help file.

About

Displays the About box.

Exit

Exits MailMagic.


Deleting Messages

To delete a message from your mail server, first highlight the message by clicking on it in the New Messages window. Next, press the Delete button in the lower right hand corner of the window. MailMagic will ask you if you are sure you want to delete the message -- if you are, press Okay and the message will automatically be deleted from the mail server before you ever have to download it with your primary e-mail program. Be careful with this feature! Once a message is deleted, there is no way you can get it back to read it, so be very sure you don't want the message before you delete it. Note: the message won't actually be deleted until the next time MailMagic checks your mail (see Checking Frequency).


Help Button

Pressing this button will load this help file.


Settings

Pressing the Settings button will bring up a dialog box that allows you to make a variety of changes to the way MailMagic operates. There are two tabs in the Settings Window -- General Settings and Connection Settings.


About

Pressing the About button displays MailMagic's About box, which gives information about the exact version of MailMagic that you are using.