EYESAFE VERSION 3.00 SHAREWARE
1. OVERVIEW
Eyesafe is an easy to use utility which can be programmed to
interrupt your computer activity at regular intervals for a certain
time period. This forces you to take a break and give your eyes a
well earned rest. Once the time period has expired you can continue
with your former activity. Its that Simple!
Most people acknowledge the UNHEALTHY nature of continuously
sitting in front of a computer for extended periods. There is often
however a lack of discipline in taking regular breaks. Although
Eyesafe was developed primarily as a utility to relieve eyestrain,
it can also be used by people who suffer from back pain or similar
disorders that require forced reminders to get you up and mobile
for a while. It has also been used with great success as a parental
control utility to force children addicted to their PC's to STOP and
take a break.
Furthermore its automatic activation on PC start-up and the
inclusion of a password facility enables one to fully control
computer activity on one's PC. Eyesafe also has a very usefull
TALKING CLOCK facility which will announce the time at specified
intervals. See section 4 for more details on this.
2. INSTALLATION
To install simply unzip the Eyesafe.ZIP file (extract it into a Temp
directory so that you can delete the files after installation) and
double click or run the setup.exe file. The install wizard does most
of the hard work and once installation is complete you wil have the
following files on your system:
Eyesafe.Exe
Readme.Txt
DelsL1.isu
_isreg32.dll
_deisreg.isr
All default to the C:\Program Files\Eyesafe\.. directory.
To UNINSTALL simply go to the Windows Start | Settings | Control
Panel and activate the Add/Remove programs application.
Proceed with the removal of Eyesafe.
3. HOW TO USE
To start Eyesafe proceed with the folowing steps:
1 - Double click either the file Eyesafe.exe or the desktop
Eyesafe icon or execute via the windows Start|menu
icon.
2 - Click the Options button and set the following
parameters as required:
- Shutdown options (Set the duration of shutdown,
the interval period and if required a warning period.
- Announce options (If required the time can be
announced at specified intervals - see section 4)
- Password option
- Activation options (Eyesafe can be set to run on
PC StartUp, it can then automatically activate the
shutdown timer and minimize to the system tray.)
3 - Click the activate button
Eyesafe will always STAY ON TOP of all other windows unless you
minimize it or if you have ticked the Minimize checkbox in the
Activation Options. The utility runs in the background and allows
you to continue with your normal activities. Once the time interval
has been reached the Eyesafe utility will take over and will only
return control to you once the shutdown time has expired. You are
then able to continue as normal until the interval time period is
reached again whereupon the shutdown operation will repeat.
When surfing the internet its best to activate the Warning Item in
the Eyesafe Options so that you are warned before shutdown
occurs. This will enable you to either terminate your online
connection or, if you prefer, start a download that will run while
you are on your rest break.
Eyesafe minimizes to the system tray. Furthermore the tray icon
has a usefull hint facility that allows users to check when the next
shutdown will occurr. A right click to the tray icon enables a pop-up
menu with some easy to use menu items.
4. TALKING CLOCK (MSAGENT) INFORMATION
Microsoft Agent (MSAGENT) is an innovative interface technology
that can be programmed to interact with a user. Eyesafe uses this
technolgy to enable a MSAGENT character to pop up at specified
intervals and announce the time. In order to have this capability the
user must install the Microsoft Agent Core Components, A text-to-
speech engine and one or more of the Microsoft Agent Characters.
The best way to do this is to go to the Microsoft Agent Home Page
and follow the instructions for installation and set up:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/imedia/agent/
Another good web page for set up instructions is:
http://www.msagentring.org/agentsetup.html.
This page provides the system requirements as well as all the
necessary software.
Note if you do not wish to make use of the TALKING CLOCK feature
the Eyesafe utility will still work as normal and none of the above
needs to be carried out
5. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Eyesafe will work on most PC's and screen resolutions. The only
requirement is that the operating system must be Windows 95 or 98.
Some anamolies can be experienced however if one is running dos
based applications from within Windows 95/98. This is especially
true for certain games that are not fully Windows95/98 compliant.
Although I have not yet tested the software on NT4 and Windows
2000 operating systems, I have had feedback that the utility works
on these platforms aswell.
6. TIPS
I find the most convenient way to use Eyesafe is to make it
automatically activate whenever you switch your PC on - see 3.2
7. DEVELOPERS DETAILS AND REGISTRATION
To register Eyesafe please send US$5 to the address shown below.
(The Delphi 3,4 and 5 source code is also available at a cost of US$10.)
Developer : George Vrahimis
26 Harry De Stadler Close
Fish Hoek
7975
South Africa
Email : gvr@msi.imt.za
All comments, bug reports and suggestions for future enhancements
are most welcome.There is however no warranty or other guarantee
of fitness for this software, it is provided solely "as is".