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User's Choice Windows CD (CMS Software)(1993).iso
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nagme8.zip
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NAGME.TXT
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1992-11-20
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NagMe 1.0
With 8-bit Samples
A shareware program by Tom Wuttke
This is shareware, but I am not going to nag you about it,
as this program will do enough nagging as it is.
The whole point of this program is to have someone
electronic around to nag you about events in time. When
it's time for class, or time to go to work, or when is your
favorite TV show coming on, this program can remind you
using a breathy female voice.
I originally wrote it years ago for my Atari to remind me
when to go to my college classes. It worked pretty well,
except the speech was very distorted, the real time clock
was always going haywire, and it completely tied up my
computer.
This one is in Windows 3.1*, and it can run in the
background, 24 hours a day. The sound is now 16 bit 44 kz
(or less, if you like) and runs into a sound card. The
voices are very clear and intimidating, the female voice
sounds sort of like the Star Trek ship's computer, only with
more reverb.
1. What you need:
* A PC running windows 3.1, or windows with multimedia
* A 16 bit sound card (there is also an 8 bit version)
* VBRUN100.DLL in your windows directory
2. What files are here:
* NAGME.EXE the executable program
* TEST.WAV a sample sound wave
* NAGME.DAT data file holding all timer events (program
modifies this)
* NAGME.TXT this file
* VBRUN100.DLL used to run Visual Basic executables
* WHO\*.WAV sound samples to be used as names
* WHAT\*.WAV sound samples to be used as events
* WHEN\*.WAV sound samples to be used as times
The only sound files the program counts on existing are the
test.wav, nagme.exe, nagme.dat, and all the 10 time wave
files. Also, the who, what, and when directories must
exist.
3. How to install NagMe on your system:
* Create a directory off your hard drive, the name doesn't
matter.
* Copy all the files into that directory, making sure the
who, what, and when subdirectories are subdirectories
off of the one with the executable in it.
NOTE:When you unzipped this package, you should have used the
-d option on pkunzip to create these subdirectories. If you
didn't, then either unzip this thing again, or move the following
files into these subdirectories:
who\brian.wav
who\chris.wav
who\dave.wav
who\ed.wav
who\linda.wav
who\tom.wav
who\hey.wav
who\youguys.wav
what\appoint.wav
what\class.wav
what\exam.wav
what\simpsons.wav
what\trek.wav
what\wakeup.wav
when\in30.wav
when\in25.wav
when\in20.wav
when\in15.wav
when\in10.wav
when\in5.wav
when\in3.wav
when\in2.wav
when\in1.wav
when\in0.wav
I'm assuming you know a little about your sound card and the
windows drivers that came with it, so I'm not going to get
into how to set up sounds, other than you should know how to
play .wav files already.
* Make sure you have a copy of VBRUN100.DLL in your
windows directory. You only need 1 copy of this file
on your hard drive.
* Using the file manager, or any other launcher, run
NAGME.EXE.
* The program will initially run as an icon, so now you
should restore it.
* Click on the test button, and make sure the sounds are
working.
4. How to use this program:
The main window holds a list of events. An event is any
particular time of the week you would like to be reminded
of, like your class schedule, or an appointment, or simply
waking up. Each event has a person's name associated with
it, so if you live with roommates, you can all use this
program. Also displayed are the times and days of the week
the event is valid, and whether or not it is a one-time
event.
To add an event, click on the add button, and up will come a
dialog to let you enter all the details. Also, an existing
event can be edited by double clicking on it, or using the
edit key. Delete also works, jut like you would suspect. I
don't even know why I'm bothering to write all this, I wrote
the program as brain-dead as possible, even a child could
figure it out.
In the add/edit dialog, you can select the sound samples to
be triggered, and the times they are triggered.
On the left are the who and what. These are simply the
.wav files in the who and what subdirectories. Notice you
can only play sounds that are .wav, and that are in these
subdirectories.
The third column is the time and day of the week. Time is
in military time, 00:00 to 23:59. Also, notice there are
check boxes for the days of the week. If you put an X in
the one-time only box, the event will automatically delete
itself after it occurs.
The forth column is the one that really makes this program
useful. Note that you can be reminded of things BEFORE they
happen. The program will trigger any combination of these
prior notice messages. I usually like to be reminded twenty
minutes before a class, and five minutes before a TV show,
or even multiple times if the event is really important.
Notice, we are totally ignoring seconds. In fact, the timer
this program uses is at a low priority five second interval,
so just don't worry about seconds. Trust me, your internal
clock in your PC is probably off by a lot more than five
seconds anyway.
If you want this program to automatically start running
whenever you boot windows, stick it in your startup.grp in
the program mangler, I mean, manager. Or else, in your
win.ini file add in to your run= line.
That's it! GO ahead and set yourself silly reminders. It
really amuses people who aren't used to computers that speak
reminding them to get to class.
5. About the voice:
Aren't the messages classic? They were recorded in my home
studio with a decent microphone through a Sony DSP to add
reverb and ambiance, and sampled at 44 khz 16 bit. When you
register, you can ask me to make some custom samples for
you, in that same voice. It can say anything you like,
really.
You might be saying, "But I only have an 8-bit card!"
That's okay, use the 8 bit version of this program. The
sampling rates on the 8 bit version are 22 khz, and they are
all monural. And be sure to tell me you want 8 bit samples
when you register, if you want any more.
6. How to Register:
Speaking of registering, let's talk about it. I really
don't care if anyone uses this program without registering
it. Heck, to be honest, I wrote all of it in two days with
Visual Basic*. But if you have the money, or would like to
have more samples and source code, then read on...
To register, just send me a check for nine dollars.
(notice I didn't make up some stupid software company name)
This will entitle you to any updates and all that.
Tom Wuttke
2525 University Ave.
Apartment J
Madison, WI 53705
If you want the source code and more samples, I can email
those to you for free after registration. Otherwise, please
give me three more dollars to make up a disk and US Mail it
to you. Oh, and by then I'll probably have the timer
version done. It'll be just like this one, except that it
is set up more as a timer, like to tell you when the cookies
are done.
I would love to hear from anyone with any comments. My
email alias is tom@castlab.engr.wisc.edu, or my phone# is
(608) 238-2463. If you include five more dollars, I'll give
you the address and phone number of the person who does the
samples for me.
Please specify your address and email alias, what type of
sound card you have, what samples you want and what sound
format (mono or stereo, 8 or 16 bit, 22 khz or 44kz), what
size of disks your machine takes, and your phone number just
in case. Also, any comments or suggestions are welcome,
even from people who aren't registered.
7. NOTICE of LIABILITY
This program is as is, so don't sue me. I honestly did not
put any viruses or fixed drive format commands in this, so
don't blame me for that. One thing it does do, the
sndPlaySound command will take over the entire machine for
the duration of the sound. That means a download will most
likely get interrupted. But other than that, you really
shouldn't have any problems. There are ways around this I
am thinking about looking into shortly.
* MS-Windows 3.1 and Visual Basic are trademarks of
Microsoft, Inc., and they might go ballistic if I don't say
this