1) Question: Is MegaPhone compatible with Power Macintosh computers and all AV equipped Macintosh computers?
Answer: Yes. Note that earlier versions of MegaPhone are not supported on newer CPUs. For example, versions prior to MegaPhone 1.0.2 are not supported on the Power Macintosh 7200, 7500, 8500, and 9500. Cypress Research and Apple both strongly recommend always using the latest version of both software packages on all CPUs.
2) Question: Is MegaPhone compatible with PowerBook computers?
Answer: Not yet. Contact Cypress Research for more information on this.
3) Question: Why is there a 5 second lag after a caller hangs up and MegaPhone stops recording?
Answer: MegaPhone is detecting the silence or dial tone on the line and needs to ensure the line is really silent before hanging up. Otherwise it might prematurely hang up on your callers. You can tell your callers to press # after their message if you want to minimize this delay.
4) Question: Can MegaPhone answer the phone if it is not running?
Answer: No. However, it can answer the phone if it is running in the background.
5) Question: Can MegaPhone launch itself when a call comes in?
Answer: No. However, it can answer the phone if it is running in the background.
6) Question: How do I set the number of rings to answer on?
Answer: In the Telephone Setup or Express Modem control panel in the general settings. This sets the number of rings for MegaPhone, Fax Software, and any other telephone software.
7) Question: If I answer a call from another phone in the house and it is a fax call, how can I receive it?
Answer: The best way to do this is to go to your computer and force a manual receive.
8) Question: If someone is leaving a message, can I still talk to them?
Answer: The GeoPort Telecom Adapter will allow switching between speaker phone and answering machine but due to the Comm Slot architecture, the Global Village modems must either answer the call or record a message.
9) Question: Can I still use Call Waiting?
Answer: Yes. When you hear the audible tone indicating you have another call, click on the Flash button or type "!". You will then switch to the other call. Click the flash button to switch back to the original call. There may be up to a five second delay before the line switches to the other call.
10) Question: Where are saved messages kept?
Answer: Saved messages are kept in a folder on your hard drive. Messages which you have already heard but not deleted can be found by following this path:
System Folder -> Preferences folder -> Cypress folder -> MegaPhone folder -> Messages folder.
You can double-click the messages to hear them again.
11) Question: Can I get a voice message back after I delete it?
Answer: No.
12) Question: The messages people are leaving are too loud or too soft. Can I adjust for this?
Answer: If you are using MegaPhone with a Global Village Teleport Gold IIv or Teleport Platinum V you can adjust the recording level. Go to the "Record/Playback" pane of the Telephone Setup control panel and adjust the mic gain level. Version 1.0.3P of MegaPhone slightly increased the recording volume. See the appendix in the MegaPhone for Performa manual for more details.
If you are using a GeoPort Telecom Adapter there are no user definable settings. The GeoPort software adjusts the recording level automatically.
13) Question: People are getting cut off when they are leaving messages. Can I adjust for this?
Answer: MegaPhone assumes a call has been terminated if it detects 5 seconds of silence or a fast busy tone.
If you are using MegaPhone with a Global Village TelePort Gold IIv or TelePort Platinum V you can adjust the silence threshold. Go to the "General" pane of the Telephone Setup control panel and adjust the silence threshold level. See the appendix in the MegaPhone for Performa manual for more details.
If you are using a GeoPort Telecom Adapter there are no user definable settings. The GeoPort software adjusts the silence threshold automatically.
14) Question: People leaving messages are saying they hear two beeps to start recording.
Answer: The "Use recording beeps" feature is turned on in the Telephone Setup control panel. This feature should not be on because MegaPhone emits its own beeps.
Note: This does not apply when using a GeoPort Telecom Adapter since there is no Telephone Setup control panel.
15) Question: Can I use MegaPhone with Call ID?
Answer: Not yet because the modem hardware does not support it.
16) Question: Is MegaPhone Apple Scriptable?
Answer: Yes. It supports the standard suite of Telephony Apple Events such as make call, dial digits, and answer.
17) Question: Is MegaPhone Recordable?
Answer: No, not at this time. Contact Cypress Research about future product plans for this.
18) Question: People I am talking to complain of hearing an echo. Can I adjust for this?
Answer: Yes, if you have a separate microphone, speakers, or both. Usually adjusting the relative positioning of these changes the echo characteristic. This can particularly be a problem in an acoustically hot room.
19) Question: When I make or receive calls the other party cannot hear me.
Answer: It is likely that you have the input device in the Sound control panel set to some device other than the microphone. If you have verified that you have selected the microphone as your input device in the Sound control panel and you are able to input sound through the microphone in other programs, then use the search string "megaphone and performa" to locate the TIL article "Megaphone for Performa: I Hear Caller, They Cannot Hear Me" for more troubleshooting information. A frequent cause of this problem is the incorrect use of the External CD Sound extension.
20) Question: What modems are supported by MegaPhone?
Answer: At this time the only supported modems are the GeoPort Telecom Adapter from Apple, the TelePort Gold IIv and the TelePort Platinum V from Global Village.
Note 1: The TelePort Gold IIv is installed internally in the Comm Slot. In the past, Apple has bundled the TelePort Gold II which is an external modem and does not have voice capability.
Note 2: The TelePort Gold IIv and Platinum V are sold only by Apple as part of a Performa bundle. Global Village does not sell these modems anywhere else. Apple is responsible for supporting these modems, not Global Village.
21) Question: What Apple bundles include MegaPhone?
Answer: MegaPhone 1.0.x is bundled with all GeoPort Telecom Adapters, MegaPhone 1.0.xSP is bundled with the Power Macintosh 7200, 7500, 8500, and 9500 computers, and MegaPhone 1.0.xP is bundled with several Performa bundles. See related TIL article: MegaPhone Version History.
22) Question: What do these version numbers mean?
Answer: The version numbers can be interpreted in the following way:
x.y.zL
x = major version number; increases with major feature set changes
y = minor version number; increases with minor feature set changes
z = bug fix version number; increases when a new release is made for bug fixes only
L = configuration modifier which can have the following values
P = Performa
SP = Power Macintosh 7200, 7500, 8500, and 9500
N = no security
J = localized for Japanese
All releases with the same x.y.z values are from the same set of code and therefore would have the same fixes and the same bugs. Every time a version is released, one of the x, y, or z numbers is increased even if not all configurations (L value) are released. Therefore, it is possible to have a 1.0.1P but no 1.0.1 out in customers* hands.
The feature sets for each configuration (L value) can differ. Briefly, the version without an L value has all features enabled for thirty days, at the end of thirty days it reverts to the Basic mode. The full feature set can be permanently activated by entering a code provided by Cypress upon payment of the upgrade fee. The SP configuration contains the Basic feature set only, and the P configuration falls somewhere between the Basic and full feature set. For more details please see related article: MegaPhone Version History.
Note:
Macintosh Users
MegaPhone for the Macintosh is now distributed and supported by Bing Software. If you need technical support, please contact Bing Software directly:
Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5pm Pacific time.
Technical Support: (714) 888-6639
Fax: (714) 888-6635
For Sales, call: (714) 888-6633
E-mail:bingsoftware@mindspring.com
Web:
http://www.BingSoftware.com
23) Question: Where do I get support for MegaPhone?
Answer: Apple supports all versions of MegaPhone that are bundled with Apple products. Apple posts the MegaPhone software to many online services and is responsible for supporting those customers as long as they are using a supported configuration (e.g. Neither Apple or Cypress would support MegaPhone on a Quadra 800). A customer that has purchased the full upgrade from Cypress is entitled to technical support from Cypress. Apple is not responsible for supporting the following versions: 1.0.xN and 1.0.xJ.
24) Question: When I try to make a call I don't get a dial tone and incoming calls are not getting answered. I'm sure my phone line is working and connected properly because I can use data communications applications. Is there something wrong with my modem or my computer?
Answer: It is very unlikely something is wrong with your modem. Go to the MegaPhone General Preferences in the File Menu and make sure that you have the proper hardware selected. The Telephone Setup control panel may have the proper tool selected but unless the right tool is selected within the MegaPhone Preferences the application may not function. When you are using a Global Village modem, make sure you can send or receive a fax. Many data applications access the modem directly and do not use the Global Village software. By using the fax capabilities you can verify that the Global Village software is correctly installed. If the Global Village software is installed and you are unable to send a fax, then there may be something wrong with the modem.
The DemoDialer Telephone Tool is selected by default if an error is encountered or another tool is not available. The DemoDialer Telephone Tool will generate dialing tones that can be used to dial a phone by holding the receiver up to the computer's speaker.
The correct tool for the Global Village modems is the CRC TelePort TelTool. The correct tool for the Geoport Telecom Adapter is the GeoPort Telephone Tool.
25) Question: Is a specific version of Apple Telecom software required to used MegaPhone with a GeoPort Telecom Adapter?
Answer: MegaPhone 1.0 does not work with Apple Telecom 2.1 or later. MegaPhone 1.0.2 and later work with all versions of Apple Telecom 2.x. In general, both Apple and Cypress strongly recommend using the latest version of both MegaPhone and Apple Telecom.
26) Question: Is a specific version of GlobalFax software required to used MegaPhone with Global Village modems?
Answer: GlobalFax 2.5.4 or later should be used for the TelePort Gold IIv modem and GlobalFax 2.5.5 or later should be used for the TelePort Platinum V modem.
27) Question: When should I use the Internal Modem Sound extension and when should I use the Audio Volume extension?
Answer: The Audio Volume extension fixes some problems with "scratchy" sound on the 5200, 6200, 5300, and 6300 (see the TIL article "Performa 5200, 5300, 6200, 6300: Static Sound"). Apple recommends using the Audio Volume extension.
28) Question: Can MegaPhone answer a call if the CPU has been put to sleep?
Answer: Yes, for the Power Macintosh CPUs that support the sleep function (7200, 7500, 8500, 9500) the GeoPort will wake the CPU up when it receives an incoming call. Note: MegaPhone must be running at the time the CPU is put to sleep and you will hear more rings before the phone is answered due to the time it takes the CPU to wake up.
29) Question: What is the relation between the volume control in MegaPhone and the Sound control panel?
Answer: The volume slider in the MegaPhone application controls the volume for speaker phone functions independently of the settings in the Sound control panel.
30) Question: Can I listen to an audio CD and use MegaPhone at the same time?
Answer: If you are using a GeoPort, the audio program will be silent while MegaPhone is in use. If you are using a Global Village modem the audio from the CD will be mixed with the MegaPhone audio. It is recommended that you pause your CD while using MegaPhone in this situation.
The Tech Info Library article titled "Locating Vendor Information" can help you search for a particular vendor's address and phone number.