A : a varied collection of freeware stereo CD-quality (16-bit @ 44.1 kHz) system alert sounds. Some are funny, some are disturbing; some are nice and some are ugly. And some are just plain weird, to say the least... You be the judge.
Q : Why these sounds ?
A : Well, I guess I'm not the only one who feels that the beeps that come with the Mac OS tend to get boring after a while; and although anyone can record their own sounds, you can now save yourself the trouble and have access to a diverse library that is FREE.
Q : What other sounds are available, and how can I obtain/use them ?
A : There are already 12 different volumes available and I am continuously putting together more. Each volume is around 1.4 Mbyte (they come on an HD floppy, see below) and contains some short soundfiles that can be used as system alert sounds, or anything else you care to use them for. Feel free to distribute the sounds, but please do include the Radicalerts-document that comes with every volume - thank you !
Q : How does it work ?
A : It's easy : to audition a sound, simply double-click it.
note : if you received these sounds on a floppy, copy the contents to a folder on your desktop first. Playing sounds directly from a floppy will force you to wait a few seconds every first time you double-click a soundfile !
To use one or more sounds as a system-alert/'beep', follow these steps :
1. Quit all running applications.
2. Drag the sound file to your System Folder.
3. Inside it, there's a folder named "System-File". It looks like a suitcase with a picture of the Finder on it. This is where default beeps like 'indigo' and 'sosumi' reside also. Drop the new sound(s) into this 'System File'-folder.
4. Now you can access the sounds directly from the control panel "Monitors and Sound" (where you normally select your system alert beep). You'll notice the new sounds you just installed will be in the list, among the default sounds. Now you can simply select and audition the sound of your choice by clicking on it in the list. Leave the control panel after making your selection; you now have your new, custom system beep !
5. To remove one or more sounds, do the following : in the control panel "Monitors and Sound", select the alert signal(s) you wish to remove by clicking on it/them and choose 'Remove'. Repeat this step for every sound you want to get rid of. Beware, however : this action will delete the sound ! If you want to keep the sound on your hard drive, but want to remove it temporarily from the list (to free up some memory or try other sounds), do the following : first, quit all appications, then go to your System Folder and open the 'System-File'-folder mentioned earlier on, and drag the sound(s) out manually to another folder on your drive. This way you still have the sounds available for later use, but they won't eat up any system memory anymore...
Q : Why do these sounds take up much more memory than the ones that come with the Mac OS ?
A : I'm aware of the fact that 16-bit audiofiles recorded stereo @ 44.1 kHz are true memory-hogs. The sounds that come with the Mac OS are only about 2K-8K each, and for an audio-file, that's peanuts, really. However, if you have even the cheapest set of external speakers connected to your Mac, the difference between Radicalert-sounds and say, 8-bit, mono recordings made @ 22 kHz, is really huge. I did my best to make sure these sounds are crisp and clear; and some files have special stereo effects added to them, which wouldn't sound half as good if they were low-bit, low-sampling rate or mono recordings...
Q : I need to squeeze every last drop out of my Mac's RAM. What do I do ?
A : If you'd like to have access to more sounds than you can (or wish) to keep in your system folder at a time (because of RAM-limitations or your own personal preferences), I suggest you copy the Radicalert-sounds to your hard drive in a seperate folder, and put only one or two Radicalerts in your 'System-File'-folder at a time. You can always switch back and forth between small groups of sounds, with a few clicks. (It would be nice if the Mac OS allowed you to treat installed alertsounds like extensions, by switching them on and off in the Extensions Manager... but unfortunately, you can't. Darn.)
Q : How were these sounds made ?
A : I recorded them straight into my PowerMac G3 using, among other things, an AKAI S2800i sampler & Ensoniq DP-4 parallel effects processor.
Q : How can I obtain more sounds ?
A :By sending me a Mac-formatted HD floppy for every volume (1 to 12) you'd like to have. To cover packing and return postage by airmail, please include $ 3,00 (or equivalent) per two floppies you send me; you will then receive the requested volumeswithin ten days - guaranteed. I can also buy the floppies for you if you don't want the hassle / postage-costs of sending them yourself; in that case make it $ 4,00 per two volumes to cover all the costs.
Q : How do I know which volumes I already have ?
A : First of all : feel free to rename the sounds, you will always be able to find out which volume the file originally came with. Let's say you rename the file called 'Impatient' into 'Car Horn'. After opening the 'System-file'-folder and choosing 'Get Info' (after a single click on the particular soundfile's icon press 'Command-i') the info box will say :
"System-alert "Impatient", from "Radicalerts" volume 1, soundfile 2 of 8."
This way, you can keep track of the sounds and volumes you already have.
And finally : if you like these sounds, and/or have any remarks / suggestions; they're very welcome at the following address :
Chris Ons
Bergeveld 1
3220 Holsbeek
Belgium
Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy the Radicalerts in this package... have fun !
