FAQ: [INDEX] - [2] - [3] - [4] - [5] - [6] - [7] - [8] - [9]

FAQ - Speed of program and RAM requirements

Firstly quit all running applications before running any of our programs. There are many reasons for this, but the following are the most important:

• RAM - Random Access Memory. This is a number that indicates the amount of physical memory available to your computer. The more physical RAM available when running a program the better. The less programs that you run at the same time, the more memory is available. Modern operating systems can use a trick called "virtual memory" to increase the amount of memory available. Each o/s handles virtual memory differently, but the idea is that when all the physical RAM is used up, it starts using a hard disk as a kind of backup RAM. Virtual memory can be significantly slower than physical RAM, so it is always a good idea to quit all applications before running any of our programs.
  Being multimedia programs with hundreds of megabytes of sounds and graphics in each, the more physical RAM available the better.
  Note: RAM capacity is usually quoted in terms of megabytes (Mb). Hard disk capacity is usually quoted in terms of gigabytes (Gb). They are not the same thing.
  
  
• Program conflicts & crashes - The more programs that are running at one time, the more things that can go wrong resulting in a system crash that may require you to restart your computer.
  
  
• Speed - The more applications running, the more the computer has to think about. The less applications running, the more time the computer has to think about sounds and animations.
  Please also refer to the sections in this FAQ on Anti-virus programs and screen savers.

Suggested RAM Requirements

Note: MacOS 9+ has significantly greater RAM requirements than any previous version of MacOS. In testing we discovered that while you could actually get our programs to start, they were basically unusable on an iBook or iMac with only 32Mb of RAM. At this time, Apple are shipping all iBooks and iMacs with 64Mb RAM which makes all of our programs run acceptably, however when they were first released (here in Australia, perhaps elsewhere in the world as well) they only had 32Mb RAM.

What are the latest versions?

Australia (International English)
PA1 - Phonics Alive! v3.3 (released December 2001)
PA2 - The Sound Blender! v1.2a
PA3 - The Speller! v3.1
PA4 - Grammar! v3.4
PA6 - Typing! v3.4
US
PA1 - Phonics Alive! v1.1c (original release)
PA2 - The Sound Blender! v1.2a
PA3 - The Speller! v2.2
PA4 - Grammar! v2.2
PA6 - Typing! v2.2
UK
PA1 - Phonics Alive! v1.1c (original release)
PA2 - The Sound Blender! v1.2a

The version number of the program can be determined by checking the underside of the CD. On the inner ring of the disc is an engraved version number. Alternatively you can open the "Read Me" file on the CD and check the version number at the top of the page.

Back to Top

FAQ: [INDEX] - [2] - [3] - [4] - [5] - [6] - [7] - [8] - [9]