PUR Version 1.11F _______________________________________________________________________________ PUR is the PowerUp Recorder for the Psion Series 3a. I know there are other programs than can do recordings, even the built-in 'recorder' application can do this. But - have you tried using them to record a short memo while driving a car? Well, I do not have three hands... So PUR was born. It is based on a modified version of one of the (former freeware?) power-up- sound-playing programs. I liked the star trek tricorder sound on switching the psion on, but during meetings it's annoying. So I changed it so that if I switched the Psion on and holding the Psion key down, it kept quiet (optionally you can switch this behaviour the other way round). You can download two sample sounds from my homepage. Recording facility works like that: keeping the escape key down while switching on will notify you by a short beep that recording function is ready to start, taking your finger off the key starts recording until a predefined time is over or ESC is pressed again. After that, the Psion switches off automatically and is ready to be put back in your pocket. PUR will *not* play the memo(s) unless you tell it so (unlike an other program does on switching on). Other features: - zoomable list - Power-up soundfile selectable - the beeps that notify you that a recording starts/ends still will sound even if you forgot to switch beeps on - key-clicks are turned off during recordings - you can record directly from PUR screen (press SPACE - and don't wait for the second beep!) - PUR will refuse recording if the device is not of RAM type (either internal or A/B) - max. recording time is selectable and will be reduced if storage space is tight. However, a small amount of disk space (16K) will be kept free, so you have always some memory to keep the whole thing working - Play the memo directly from the system screen by 'opening' one of the listed files like you would do with other applications (to switch to PUR without playing a memo select the bold printed entry "Pur" which actually is not a filename but the application's name) - Lock memos against accidental deleting (uses RO file attribute) To install PUR copy the files to your Psion as follows: \APP\PUR.OPA (the program, mandatory) \APP\PUR\PUR*.FON (special characters, optional but recommended) \APP\PUR\PUR.HLP (the help file, optional) Note: You do not need my library file "\OPD\BWB-LIB.OVL" any more, please delete it if you had a previous version installed. The files need not be put on the same drive, however they must be available at program start and while the program is running. Although the help file is optional, I recommend installing and reading it thoroughly. Later you can remove it if you like. The supplied small font files (*.FON) contain some special characters. If you really do need this less than one KB more free disk space, you may omit any or all of them: the numbers refer to the zooming level, i. e. PUR0.FON is the smallest, PUR3.FON the largest font. Start PUR by selecting *any* file under the PUR-icon (if you already have memos in \PUR\ they will be shown beneath the icon) and press ENTER. If later you want to switch to PUR from the system screen, chose the bold printed entry "Pur" under the icon. If you select a different entry, the corresponding memo will be played immediately. The following files/directories will be created: M:\APP\PUR\PUR.INI (the configuration settings) ?:\PUR\ (your memos go in here) If you are upgrading from an earlier version of PUR please check your settings and re-save them (i. e. leave the dialogs with , not ), since the INI-file contents may have changed for this version and the file so might have to be rewritten. The known problems: - IF you have your password switched off AND you have set the system screen update option to 'automatic' AND you switched your Psion off with the system screen in foreground, THEN you will have to keep ESC down quite a while before you get the notification beep for the recording, because PUR will not get the power-on event until the system screen has finished updating. So I suggest that you either do always use a password or do not use the automatic system screen update option (which is the default) or make sure that you don't switch off with the system screen in foreground ;-) *or* you give me some advice how I could handle this a little bit smarter. - for the same reason it can be quite some time before PUR gets to foreground if a memo is present --- SHAREWARE ----------------------------------------------------------------- After having spent so many additional programming hours, I decided to release PUR now as ShareWare, which means that you are allowed to test this software for a reasonable amount of time. If you finished testing and want to keep using it, you have to register by sending me DM 10 (USD 8, GBP 5) in cash. You will in turn get a registration module via email, which allows access to the currently disabled features of this program. I'm sorry, but due to german postages I can only send you a diskette if you add 50% to the registration fee. Registered users will get regular updates via email as soon as they are available. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- LEGAL STUFF --------------------------------------------------------------- You have the one and only right to use this program for the intended purpose. You may not in any way reverse translate the program. You may distribute the program provided that you keep all supplied files together and do not charge anything for it. YOU MAY NOT DISTRIBUTE THE REGISTRATION FILE which you recieve upon registration. Although this program has been carefully tested I can not guarantee that it works as desired. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Feel free to contact me if you have problems or suggestions, even if you have not registered, and please report all bugs you find. Have fun! _______________________________________________________________________________ HISTORY: V1.02F - first official release V1.03F (March 31, 1996) - fixed bug with 'to background' function - added automatic screen update after foreground event V1.04F (April 3, 1996) - fixed bug with automatic screen update in coherence with some menu commands V1.05F (April 7, 1996) - fixed bug that BWB-Lib was not found when installed on a different drive than the main program file V1.10F (May 24, 1996) - Changed initial directory for power-up sound to \WVE\ - Option to chose between internal power-up sounds and external file - New option "ESC-check delay" - Memory dialog (used space by memos / recording time available) - changed application type to 2, to allow playing of memos directly from system screen - added row cursor and so improved selecting memos to play/delete - File date/time now shown in system-specific format - fixed problem with bar indicator (now relative to max. recording time) - added recognition of 'new' memos and appropriate handling features - added on-line help - option to change how power-up sound playing is handled regarding how you switch on - after adding so many features, made it shareware, registration allows access to the following (new) features: - files are sorted (order selectable) - added 'locking' feature V1.11F (June 9, 1996) - fixed bug that crashed program if recording dir was not present at program start - no library needed anymore - added option to specify naming conventions - number keys now change sort order (registered users only) _______________________________________________________________________________ TO-DO's: (not necessarily in order of implementation date) - allow adding textual notes to memos - trim function (automatic/manual) (cut off silent parts at start and end) - compress function (cut off silent parts in the middle) - what else??? _________________________________________\____________________Brendan W. Breede \ D-28325 Bremen \ Graubuendener Strasse 77 \ +49-421-400104 (fax+voice) \ brendan@informatik.uni-bremen.de \ http://www.informatik.uni-bremen.de/~brendan/ \ ________________________________________________\______________________________ [ Life is like a Ferrari: too fast - but so what, you can't afford it anyway! ]