ADJUSTING TALK•OUT

*Talk•Out can be adjusted during  your conversation to optimize performance.  Once talker is running it may be operated in the foreground or the background.  Adjustments can only be done  in the foreground.

Zoom Box:
Click the zoom box in the upper right-hand corner of the Talk•Out window to expand the window to the "expert mode" and reveal the controls.  If the controls are visible click the zoom box to shrink the window and hide the controls.

Status Message: 
Messages will appear here to let you know the current Talker status.  This will include normal messages and error messages.  Refer to the troubleshooting section for help in handling error messages.

Sound indicator :
The results of the adjustment can be seen in the record indicator.  When the indicator has "ripples" radiating out from it, then sound is being picked-up by the microphone.

*If you are not talking and the indicator is still "rippling" then the microphone is still picking-up background sounds.   This means that background sounds are being sent.  This may be exactly what you want.  For example, if you are playing music in the background and want it to be heard then it might be OK.  The best test is silence.  If  the "ripples" continue when you believe the room is silent  this means that the microphone is picking up background noise like the sound of your computer, air conditioner or some other sound.  You should move the sensitivity control to the left until the ripples stop. 

*If  you are talking and the indicator is not "rippling" then the microphone is not picking up your voice.  Move the sensitivity control to the right until the ripples start.  You may also wish to look at the Compatible Mode section if you have a Third-Party microphone.

Network indicator :
This control indicates when packets of information are being sent across the network.  It is synchronized to the Sensitivity indicator.  You may notice a slight delay if you are talking over a slower network connection such as AppleTalk Remote Access.

Sensitivity control :
Proper adjustment of sensitivity is critical.  This slider controls  the sensitivity of the microphone.  Sliding the control to the right makes the microphone more sensitive to sound.   This may also increase the network traffic since more sound may be picked up by the microphone.  Sliding the control to the left makes the microphone less sensitive to sounds.   Adjust the sensitivity until sound and network indicators only "ripple" when you are talking.

Volume Control :
The speaker volume can be adjusted using this control.  There are eight settings which correspond to the settings in the Sound Control Panel.

Compress Sound Check Box:
Click this check-box to reduce the amount of network traffic you are generating by one-half.  This also has the effect of reducing the quality of the sound heard by the other user.  Compression should be used to balance network usage and performance when dictated by your local conditions.

Delayed Operation:
The delay buffer is used when operating over a slow network link such as AppleTalk Remote Access with lower speed modems and or server.  The delay may be several seconds.  System memory may be used when there is plentiful memory available at all times.  If you often are low on system memory (many large applications running simultaneoulsly),  you should allocate an additional 512KB of memory to your Talk•Out application using the Get Info section on your file menu  and use application memory.

System Memory Radio Button:
Click this button to use system memory for the delay buffer.  

Application Memory Radio Button:
Click this button to use the application memory for the delay buffer.

Memory Usage Gage:
This indicates how much of the available memory is in use during delay operations.  If will fluctuate depending on the network traffic and network capacity.

USING THE TALK•OUT MENU

The Talk•Out menu provides special Talk•Out support services such as an Address Book, third-party microphone usage and network status updating.

3D PARTY MICROPHONE

√ this item on the menu to use a Third-Party microphone that has its own software driver (like MacRecorder™) with Talk•Out.  If you have a microphone supplied by Apple or are using the standard built-in microphone jack then do NOT check the 3d Party Microphone item.

AUTOUPDATE USER LIST

√ this item on the menu if you wish to have the zone and user lists on the Talk•Out window refreshed periodically.  This will let you see any new users who connect to the network and have the Talk•In application available for connection.  This will take place even if Talk•Out is running in the background.  This will cause a small increase in overhead because the system will be required to check for new activity.

*If you do not √ this menu item, the zone and user lists will not be refreshed unless you press the REFRESH button.  This is suggested for networks with a large number of users. The REFRESH button is only active when you are not connected to another user through Talk•Out.