CD ROM Paradise Collection 4/CD ROM Paradise Collection 4 1995 Nov.iso/win/sssa.zip/README.TXT

Text File | 1994-12-30 | 17KB | 361 lines

DAMSEL SOFTWARE GROUP's   SHAREWARE SCREEN SAVER SAMPLER

        Greetings from Damsel Software Group.

Please click on your "expand window size" symbol.  Thanks!

This file contains information on the following subjects:

    1.  Product Registration
    2.  The Association of Shareware Professionals
    3.  Copyright Information
    4.  Minimum System Requirements
    5.  Setting Up Your Screen Saver
    6.  Screen Saver Function and Features
    7.  JPEG Image Compression
    8.  Monitor Display
    9.  Wallpaper
    10. Uninstalling Your Screen Saver
    11. Warranty Information
    12. Registration Form

This is the only time this README.TXT file will appear automatically. In
the future you can read the file by coming back to your Windows' Notepad
(located under Accessories in your Program Manager menu) and opening the
README.TXT file found in the DAMSELSS directory, or by two clicks on the
filename directly from within File Manager.  You may also read the file
from your C:\> DOS prompt by typing TYPE C:\DAMSELSS\README.TXT | MORE.
You may exit this file at any time by clicking on the minus sign of the
Notepad window at the upper lefthand corner.

This README.TXT file can be printed in a variety of ways.  In MS-DOS you
can print it at any time from your C:\DAMSELSS> prompt by typing COPY
README.TXT PRN and pressing Enter.  Within Windows it can be printed
from the Notepad or from any other word processing program that can open
a .TXT file.  In Windows' Notepad you should set File\Page Setup\Left
Margin to zero before printing to insure that each line will print in
its entirety.  This text file will not appear during the actual running
of the screen saver.


1.  PRODUCT REGISTRATION

If you like the screen saver and intend to use it now or in the future, you
should register your screen saver within 30 days by sending a check for
$10.00 in U.S. currency drawn on a U.S. bank to:

        Damsel Software Group
        P.O. Box 713
        Concord, NH 03302-0713

Call our phone/fax at 603 485-2677 if you desire verification.  You may
print out and use the registration form found at the end of this README
file to insure we receive your mailing address.

Your $10.00 registration fee entitles you to a registered copy of the
Screen Saver Sampler on 3 1/2" diskettes, a User's Guide, a Catalog of
other Damsel Screen Savers and Wallpaper Bitmap Collections, and free
lifetime technical support.  All catalog screen savers contain 24 full-
screen images and are US$10.00 each, plus $4.00 shipping and handling for
up to nine items.

As an additional inducement you will receive a second screen saver made up
of the 48 tiles and eye-popping full-screen images contained in Damsel's
Bitmap Collection, Vol. I., arranged in an art gallery format of  multi-tile
salon walls.  Send US$10.00 and get it all, PLUS free shipping and handling
on this, your first Damsel order (3 1/2" virus-free diskettes only).


2.  THE ASSOCIATION OF SHAREWARE PROFESSIONALS

Damsel Software Group is a member of the Association of  Shareware
Professionals (ASP).  ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle
works for you.  If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem
with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to
help.  The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an
ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products.
Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI  USA
49442-9427, Fax [phone], or send a CompuServe message via
CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536.

Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before buying
it.  If you try a Shareware program and continue using it, you are expected
to register.  Individual programs differ on details -- some request
registration while others require it, some specify a maximum trial period.
With registration, you get anything from the simple right to continue using
the software to an updated program with printed material.

Shareware differs from public domain software in that there is the under-
standing of payment IF the user continues to actively employ the software.
Shareware is also copyrighted where public domain software is not.
Copyright restrictions vary from author to author.  Damsel's Screen Savers
and Bitmap Collections are copyrighted.  The details of this copyright
follow the loading and use section below.

Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software.  You should
find software that suits your needs and pocketbook, whether it's commercial
or Shareware.  The Shareware system makes fitting your needs easier,
because you can try before you buy.  Shareware has the ultimate money-back
guarantee -- if you don't use the product, you don't pay for it.


3.  COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

Damsel Software Group's shareware version of its Screen Saver Sampler can
be shared freely with everyone.  We do request that a copy of this README
file accompany the program so that others may register the product if they
so desire.  For commercial disk vendors this request becomes an absolute
requirement.  This shareware version cannot be used for commercial
applications.

Once registered, all Damsel products may be used as wallpaper or as
baseline images for further private or commercial processing.  Your only
restriction as a registered purchaser, owner, or user, is that the
Sampler or its individual images not be resold or distributed in their
original unmodified form.  Images may be used unmodified in commercial
publications where they form an integral part of a larger work to be sold
or marketed as such.  The images cannot be resold as stand-alone graphics
without the expressed written consent of Damsel Software Group.


4.  MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

The full-screen images contained in this Damsel screen saver are best
suited for 256-color display.  A video display board with a minimum of
512K RAM and 256-color capability for display on a VGA or SVGA monitor
is essential.

You will need an IBM PC-compatible with a 386 or higher-type micro-
processor, 4MB RAM, and a hard disk with 3MB free disk space.

Damsel products run with MS-DOS 3.1 or higher using Windows 3.0 or higher.


5.  SETTING UP YOUR SCREEN SAVER

Exit this README file by clicking on the minus sign of the Notepad window.
Then, turn off any other screen savers you may be using unless they are
the ones linked directly to your Program Manager\Control Panel\Desktop
module, following the manufacturer's instructions.  To access your Damsel
Screen Saver Sampler from Windows' Program Manager,

1.  Double click on your Main icon.
2.  Double click on the Control Panel icon.
3.  Double click on the Desktop icon.
4.  Once you are in the Desktop dialog box open the list
    in the Screen Saver area by clicking the button at the right
    of the box titled "Name:" (or by pressing TAB several times to go to
    the box, followed by ALT+DOWN ARROW).
5.  Scroll on the slide bar until you find the screen saver titled DAMSEL.
    Click once on the title to select it.  You may also select the
    "Delay" time (of inactivity) in minutes which will preceed the
    initiation of any screen saver selected.  Password protection is also
    available and is described in the next section.
6.  After selecting the DAMSEL screen saver choose OK in the upper right-
    hand corner of the dialog box and exit back to the opening screen.
    The DAMSEL Screen Saver Sampler will now appear after the initial
    chosen period of inactivity passes.

The order of the images will be:

    1.  Six images from the New England Wildflower Collection
    2.  Six images from the New Hampshire Wilderness Collection.
    3.  Six images from the Big Sky Collection.
    4.  Six images from the Damsel Surreal Art Collection.

Please note that these images are unique to this sampler and will not
reappear in any other collection you purchase.


6.  SCREEN SAVER FUNCTION AND FEATURES

All of Damsel's screen savers have preset display times and transition
effects (the methods used to transition between one image and the next).
The image files are stored in compressed JPEG format.  The length of time
required to decompress each image and perform transition effects will
depend directly on the size and speed of your microprocessor (386, 486,
or Pentium) and the power of your video graphics card.

Damsel has set the display times to be approximately 30 seconds for each
image using a 486-type machine running at 33 Megahertz.  Faster 486 and
Pentium machines will exhibit shorter display times.  Users with 386-
type machines will notice display times of approximately one minute and an
initial blank screen lasting up to one minute as the microprocessor
decompresses the first image.  Some blank screen time will also appear
between transition effects on slower machines.

Your screen saver has been installed in the "Mouse Aware" mode, meaning that
any movement of the mouse will disengage the screen saver.  Disengagement
may take several seconds if the program is interrupted during one of the
image transitions.  The screen saver may be put into a "Mouse Ignore" mode
where only a depressed key on the keyboard will deactivate the screen saver
(see next paragraph).  The program will recommence using the next image in
its sequence when the selected delay time reactivates the screen saver.

To access the Mouse Aware \ Mouse Ignore setup choices click on the Setup
button of the Screen Saver section of the Desktop dialog box (accessed by
the Program Manager\Main\Control Panel\Desktop command sequence).  The
choices are found in the upper righthand box of the Setup dialog box.
Click on the down arrow at the righthand end of the box, then click on your
choice.  Then, click on the OK button of the Setup box, followed by a click
on the OK button of the Desktop dialog box.

Damsel screen savers have incorporated the same Password protection scheme
offered by the original Windows screen savers.  This feature is also found
in the Setup dialog box of the Screen Saver section of the Desktop dialog
box.  A click on the Password button brings up a screen with the "Enter New
Password" entry line.  As you type in your selected password, asterisks
will appear for each letter.  Clicking on the OK button will bring up a
confirmation screen where you will be asked to reenter the same password.
Clicking the OK button here will return you to the original Setup screen.

Clicking the OK button here, followed by a click on the Desktop dialog box
OK button will activate your password protection.  With the screen saver
activated, any motion of the mouse in the Mouse Aware mode or keyboard
entry in the Mouse Ignore mode will bring up an Enter Password dialog box.
The password must be correctly entered in order to gain access back to the
active Windows environment.  If you forget your password your only option
is to reload the entire program from your original install disks.

If you wish to change or remove the password you must return to the Setup
screen of the Screen Saver section of the Desktop dialog box.  To enter a
new password follow the same procedure as described above.  To remove the
password simply click on the OK button of both the Enter New Password
input screen and the Reenter New Password screen without filling in the
input line.


7.  JPEG IMAGE COMPRESSION

In order to save space on your hard disk Damsel uses JPEG graphics file
compression techniques on all images used in our screen savers.  JPEG, a
standard developed by the Joint Photographic Experts Group, is a complex
compression method that gives the developer control over the degree to
which a file is reduced in size for storage.  This method does result in
loss of image fidelity since individual pixel data is not maintained.  At
high compression ratios , the mathematical algorithms average large groups
of pixels resulting in a reduced number of colors and image blockiness when
displayed.

Any developer using this method must make judgment calls concerning image
quality versus file size.  A full 640 X 480  256-color image in Microsoft
BMP format (used in Windows wallpaper) is over 308K bytes in size.  By
contrast, full-screen JPG (JPEG) image files used in a screen saver such
as Microsoft's Scenes average around 33K bytes per image.

Damsel Software Group has elected to set the trade-off between disk space
and image quality a bit more in the direction of high image quality.
Damsel's JPG format results in file sizes averaging 70K bytes per image.
Each image is manually optimized to meet image resolution requirements
without sacrificing valuable hard disk space.





8.  MONITOR DISPLAY

The program configures the image display to your screen by first reading
your on-line graphics display format.  If your monitor is not configured
for 256 colors, the program will attempt to construct a 16-color standard
VGA dithered image from the few colors available in this format.  Usually,
the result of this mathematical process is visually unacceptable for
complex images.

If you find the Damsel images barely recognizable and you have a minimum
of 512K RAM on your video display board, there is probably a driver you
can load which will support 256-color display.  Consult your machine and
Windows documentation for more information regarding your specific
situation.


9.  WALLPAPER

To use Damsel's images as wallpaper for Windows the picture file format
must be changed from JPG to Microsoft BMP format.  Your Windows program
does not have this capability, it must be purchased from a third party
vendor.  These programs existed as stand-alones for under US$100.00 in
1995.  You may be able to find this facility in other screen savers.

If you find a Damsel screen saver collection that suits your needs the
easiest solution is to simply order that collection from Damsel Software
Group in the wallpaper (BMP) format.  A catalog of all Damsel screen
savers and wallpapers will be sent upon registration of this product.


10. UNINSTALLING YOUR SCREEN SAVER

Your screen saver has been loaded to a directory named DAMSELSS unless you
chose otherwise during the installation procedure.  In order to enable you
to access the screen saver Damsel has loaded two additional files into your
Windows directory,  DAMS3115.INI and DAMS3115.SCR.

To remove the screen saver from your hard disk simply delete all files in
the DAMSELSS (or your own directory name chosen during installation) and
the DAMS3115.INI and DAMS3115.SCR files located in your Windows directory.
This can be done quickly from your Windows' File Manager, found in your
Program Manager's Main menu.  Each future screen saver purchased from
Damsel Software Group will offer a unique setup directory during
installation so that you will be able to maintain clear control over all
Damsel files residing on your hard disk.


WARRANTY

Damsel Software Group specifically disclaims all warranties, expressed or
implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of mechantability
and fitness for a particular purpose or application.  In no event  shall
Damsel Software Group, its owner or employees be liable for any loss
of profit, loss of savings, commercial damage, or other incidental or
consequential damages arising out of the use or inability to use any
Volume or Sampler of Damsel Screen Savers, even if Damsel Software
Group has been advised of the possibility of such damages, or for any
claim by any other party.


Windows , Scenes , and MS-DOS are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp.





12. REGISTRATION FORM

- - Cut - - here  - - for - - registration - - form - - - - - - - - - - - -

DAMSEL SOFTWARE GROUP                                     REGISTRATION FORM
P.O. Box 713
Concord, NH  03302-0713

SCREEN SAVER SAMPLER                  SPECIAL  INTRODUCTORY  OFFER

Yes, I want to receive a registered version of Damsel's Screen Saver Sampler
and take advantage of lifetime technical support, free catalog with updates,
an additional screen saver based on Damsel's Bitmap Collection Vol. I,
and free shipping, all for only $10.00 in U.S. currency from a U.S. bank.
I understand the collection will be shipped only on 3 1/2" diskettes.

I have enclosed $ _________________ in U.S. funds.
        Please ship my 3 1/2" diskettes and other documentation to:

       Name ___________________________________________________________

       Address ________________________________________________________

       City, State, ZIP _______________________________________________



DAMSEL SOFTWARE GROUP

     ... hopes you enjoy DAMSEL'S SHAREWARE SCREEN SAVER SAMPLER.

     ... and looks forward to supplying you with the best in

     screen savers, wallpaper, and future animated screen savers.

     ... AND REMEMBER, your thoughts and suggestions are always welcome.

            !!! HAPPY VIEWING !!!