






                                                 NICAD 1.0 INFORMATION FILE
     



     Contents
     

     This document contains the following information:

           Program Information
           Author Information
           Introduction
           Printing the Manual
           Installation
           Quick Start
           Shareware Notice


     Program Information
     

     PROGRAM

          Name:       NiCad

          Version:    1.0

          Copyright:  KJL Software

          BBS name:   NICAD10.ZIP (or NICAD10.ARC, NICAD10.LZH, etc.)

          Keywords:   NICAD 1.0 LAPTOP PORTABLE NOTEBOOK BATTERY CHARGE
                      DEEP DISCHARGE KJL SHAREWARE

          Categories: System or Hardware Utilities, Laptop Utilities


     SHORT DESCRIPTIONS

     The following are some suggested descriptions:

          1. Laptop battery gauge plus deep discharge, alarms.

          2. Pop-up laptop battery gauge with deep discharge.

          3. NiCad 1.0 monitors laptop battery charge, displays
             "fuel gauge," and deep discharges battery.






     LONG DESCRIPTION

          NiCad 1.0 is a memory-resident program which keeps track of
          laptop battery use and provides a visual bar graph of the battery
          charge. Many battery management features, including deep
          discharge of batteries, up to 7 low-battery alarms, "pop-up"
          windows, optional on-screen clock and charge indicator, and
          battery charge history. Plus it works with ALL laptop computers.


     DISTRIBUTING NICAD

     You are encouraged to give copies of NiCad to friends and upload it to
     bulletin board systems. When uploading NiCad please make sure all of
     the files listed in the file PACKLIST.DOC are included and the above
     compressed filename is used. This will help other users locate the
     most recent release of the program. Additional information are
     available in the files BBS.DOC and VENDOR.DOC.


     Author Information
     

     If you have any questions regarding NiCad, please write to:

          KJL Software
          2970 Mira Place
          Burnaby, B.C.  V3J 1B6
          Canada

     Or send a Compuserve Mail message to ID:

          71570,1012


     Introduction
     

     Are you are a laptop computer user who has asked the question, "I
     wonder how much charge is left in my battery?" If so, NiCad is a
     memory-resident program which will answer your question. At any time,
     from within any text-mode program, you can "pop-up" a bar graph and
     timer which tell you how much time there is left before the battery
     runs out. And, best of all, NiCad is compatible with ALL battery-
     powered laptop computers.






     NiCad provides features to help get the most from all laptop computer
     batteries, including:

           Battery charge gauge

            This visual indicator allows you to see at a glance how much
            charge is left in the battery.

           Estimated time until empty display

            Shows how much time is left, in hours and minutes, until the
            battery runs out of power.

           Easy-to-use interface

           Deep discharge of batteries

            Drains battery COMPLETELY to prevent unwanted "memory" effects.

           Multiple low-battery alarms

            Give audible reminders that the battery is nearly empty to
            avoid any disastrous "surprises."

           Selectable alarm tone

            Allows you to tailor alarm sounds to the current environment.

           On-screen clock

            Displays the current time in a corner of the screen while
            running other programs. International time support is also
            provided.

           On-screen battery charge display

            Shows the amount of time or percentage until the battery runs
            out of power.

           Selectable on-screen display position

            Move the display to any corner of the screen for compatibility
            with most programs or turn it off completely.

           Power-on charging support

            Increments the battery gauge during charging to tell you when
            the battery is fully charged.






           Battery charge history

            Provides an overview of your last 10 battery charges.


     Printing the Manual
     

     The NiCad User's Guide will be approximately 35 pages long when
     printed. Also, the maximum length of its pages is 59 lines, this
     allows it to be printed on all printers including laser printers
     limited to 60 lines-per-page.

     The document contains IBM graphics characters (like "", "", and
     ""). If your printer cannot print these characters, use the program
     PRINTEXT.COM included with the NiCad package to convert these
     characters into printable versions (like "|", "+", and "#"). For
     example type the following to print the User's Manual to LPT1:

          PRINTEXT NICAD.DOC /C

     Because of these characters, you should use a fixed-pitch font (not
     proportionally spaced) for proper printing of the diagrams.


     Installation
     

     NiCad should be installed on your boot-disk so that is loaded into
     memory each time the computer is restarted.

     Follow these steps to install NiCad on a floppy diskette:

          1. Insert the NiCad distribution diskette into your computer's
             diskette drive.

             This installation procedure will assume that drive A: contains
             the NiCad distribution diskette and that drive B: is the
             destination drive where the files will be installed.

          2. Type the following command to copy the files from the
             distribution disk.

               COPY A:*.* B: and press <Enter>

             If your system is equipped with one drive, you will be
             prompted to swap diskettes several times (you may wish to use
             XCOPY instead to reduce the amount of swapping required).


     Follow these steps to install NiCad on a hard-drive:







          1. Insert the NiCad diskette into your computer's diskette drive.

          2. Log onto the hard-disk drive, for example if it is drive C:
             then type:

               C: and press <Enter>

          3. Create a new directory for the NiCad distribution files by
             entering the following command:

               MD \NICAD and press <Enter>

          4. Change to the newly created directory by typing:

               CD \NICAD and press <Enter>

          5. Copy the files from the distribution disk to the new
             directory:

               COPY A:*.* and press <Enter>


     Quick Start
     

     The NiCad package includes a menu-driven batch file, INTRO.BAT, which
     can be used to print the documentation and load NiCad into memory. To
     run the INTRO program, just type the following at the DOS prompt:

          INTRO and press <Enter>

     If you would rather just load the program immediately, type the
     following:

          NICAD and press <Enter>

     NiCad will display a list of command-line options and tell you that it
     is installed in memory and ready for activation. To "pop-up" the NiCad
     main window, just hold down the <Alt> key and press the <.> (period)
     key.






     Shareware Notice
     

     NiCad is provided at no charge for evaluation purposes only. It is a
     copyrighted program and is neither free nor public domain software.
     You are entitled to evaluate the program on your own equipment for no
     more than 30 days. At the end of this period you must either register
     the program or cease using it.

     As a registered user of NiCad, you will receive:

          1. The registered version of the software which omits all
             registration reminders and delays, and therefore uses less
             memory.

          2. The most current version of the program. We are always
             improving our products, and registration ensures that you have
             the very latest version.

          3. Shareware versions of our products absolutely free.

          4. Notification of significant upgrades to NiCad.

          5. Low-cost upgrades to the latest version of NiCad (typically
             20-30% of the registration cost)

          6. Special offers on other products from KJL Software.

          7. Free technical support.


     The registration fee for NiCad is $25 US plus S&H, please use the
     registration form at the end of the User's Guide or in the file
     REGISTER.FRM. Thank you for your support of the Shareware concept.