[RESOLVED] Lost CD - Please Help!

[DanDMan]

I recently purchased a 'Smart Alex' toy for my baby daughter (see here (http://store.palleyd.com/smartalex.html) for a description) while on a business trip. Unfortunately, the CD was missing from the box and the company seems to have gone out of business.

Does anyone know where I can get a duplicate CD or a software bundle that will bring this toy to life? It really cannot do much without the software...

Thank you very much in advance!

Aloha,

Dan

[SpywareDr]

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=SmartAlex+lifelike+animation+teaches&btnG=Search

[DanDMan]

Thank you SpywareDr for your very fast response.

I found the email address of 1 person who has the toy and am hoping I will be able to at least get a duplicate of the disc. It is a long-shot though...

I saw a couple Smart Alex units on eBay, the problem is that shipping to Hawaii would be horrendous.

Does anyone have the disc (and/or any of the expansion software)?

[DanDMan]

I managed to find someone who sent me the disc. I checked the EULA and saw that as long as I don't export it to a prohibited country or disassemble the code, etc, that duplication and distribution of the software was PERMITTED.

So if anyone needs the software for the ULTRA cool toy (wirelessly connected to your computer, telling stories, voice recognition, etc), let me know and I can send you a copy.

Now all I need are the expansion modules that were available.

Anyone know where I can dig one of them up?

[niecy15]

I read your posting that it was ok to send out a copy of the smart alex software. if you still have this information, I need a copy of it. The cd broke in transit and I've been unable to locate another doll and/or find the company that originally supplied them. feel free to respond to niecy15@hotmail.com

Thanks

[lgbpop]

It's strongly advised not to post an email address directly..... :)

[DanDMan]

Hi niecy15,

I sent you a message - let me know what would work for you. As this is a very cool toy whose software is difficult to find, I would be happy to help!

I have heard there are other software add-ons for this toy (more stories, etc), if you or anyone else happens to find them, could you let me know?

[Nix]

I managed to find someone who sent me the disc. I checked the EULA and saw that as long as I don't export it to a prohibited country or disassemble the code, etc, that duplication and distribution of the software was PERMITTED.

So if anyone needs the software for the ULTRA cool toy (wirelessly connected to your computer, telling stories, voice recognition, etc), let me know and I can send you a copy.

Now all I need are the expansion modules that were available.

Anyone know where I can dig one of them up?That seems strange as you woudl have thought that duplication and distribution would put them out of business as everyone will just get a copy from someone else ?

Are you able to post the EULA here for us to read ?

[DanDMan]

Sure!
CREATOR LTD.
ELECTRONIC END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT


NOTICE TO USER:
THIS IS A CONTRACT. BY INSTALLING THIS SOFTWARE YOU ACCEPT ALL THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT.

This Creator Systems Incorporated ("Creator") End User License Agreement accompanies the Creator(r) product and related explanatory materials ("Software"). The term "Software" also shall include any upgrades, modified versions or updates of the Software licensed to you by Creator. Please read this Agreement carefully. At the end, you will be asked to accept this agreement and continue to install or, if you do not wish to accept this Agreement, to decline this agreement, in which case you will not be able to use the Software.

Upon your acceptance of this Agreement, Creator grants to you a nonexclusive license to use the Software, provided that you agree to the following:

1. Use of the Software.

- You may install the Software on a hard disk or other storage device; install and use the Software on a file server for use on a network for the purposes of (i) permanent installation onto hard disks or other storage devices or (ii) use of the Software over such network; and make backup copies of the Software.

- You may make and distribute unlimited copies of the Software, including copies for commercial distribution, as long as each copy that you make and distribute contains this Agreement and the same copyright and other proprietary notices pertaining to this Software that appear in the Software. If you download the Software from the Internet or similar on-line source, you must include the Creator copyright notice for the Software with any on-line distribution and on any media you distribute that includes the Software.

2. Copyright and Trademark Rights. The Software is owned by Creator limited, and its structure, organization and code are the valuable trade secrets of Creator.The Software also is protected by United States Copyright Law and International Treaty provisions. You may use trademarks only insofar as required to comply with Section 1 of this Agreement and to identify printed output produced by the Software, in accordance with accepted trademark practice, including identification of trademark owner's name. Such use of any trademark does not give you any rights of ownership in that trademark. Except as stated above, this Agreement does not grant you any intellectual property rights in the Software.

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4. No Warranty. The Software is being delivered to you AS IS and Creator makes no warranty as to its use or performance. Creator AND ITS SUPPLIERS DO NOT AND CANNOT WARRANT THE PERFORMANCE OR RESULTS YOU MAY OBTAIN BY USING THE SOFTWARE OR DOCUMENTATION. Creator AND ITS SUPPLIERS MAKE NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO NONINFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS, MERCHANTABILITY, OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT WILL Creator OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY LOST PROFITS OR LOST SAVINGS, EVEN IF AN Creator REPRESENTATIVE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY CLAIM BY ANY THIRD PARTY. Some states or jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental, consequential or special damages, or the exclusion of implied warranties or limitations on how long an implied warranty may last, so the above limitations may not apply to you.

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6. Notice to Government End Users. The Software and Documentation are "Commercial Items," as that term is defined at 48 C.F.R. §2.101, consisting of "Commercial Computer Software" and "Commercial Computer Software Documentation," as such terms are used in 48 C.F.R. §12.212 or 48 C.F.R. §227.7202, as applicable. Consistent with 48 C.F.R. §12.212 or 48 C.F.R. §§227.7202-1 through 227.7202-4, as applicable, the Commercial Computer Software and Commercial Computer Software Documentation are being licensed to U.S. Government end users (A) only as Commercial Items and (B) with only those rights as are granted to all other end users pursuant to the terms and conditions herein.

Unpublished-rights reserved under the copyright laws of the United States.
Creator Ltd.,Givat Shmuel 54030 ISRAEL.

Creator is trademark of Creator LTD.
Understand that the software is useless without the toy, and vice versa. (i.e. you will HAVE to buy the toy to want the software)

Unfortunately they DID go out of business, but I am not sure what the reasons for that might have been... I don't think that people passing on the software had anything to do with it. I think it had more to do with the fact that this was an EXPENSIVE toy to buy for a little kid... (I think it retailed for about $120+)

[Nix]

There you go.

Since the software is useless without the toy then I guess that's why they say waht they do ?

[macrat]

I am in need for SmartAlex parts. I lost the wireless transmitter/microphone unit, and I would like to get it replaced. Anyone have it, ot the transmitter AND book doll toy? I can pay up to the retail price for it. This offer does not expire. You can search for my email address or name and address easily by my easily searchanble names-

Robert Roehm in Los Alamitos, CA Domain name: PBSKidVid.com

Thank you!

[macrat]

Oh, by the way, the company went out of business as they lost a lawsuit against Microsoft, due to them using similar code for its Irish-built Actimates radio-controlled toys, as the Israeli patent for SmartAlex describes.

Team Concepts probably drained all their resources taking the company to court, but nothing came out of it as they ran out of money for the stipends.

Also, SmartAlex was a battery hog - its major fault. It bled them dry, even when not in use.

[DanDMan]

Yes yes yes it is most definitely a battery hog. That is where rechargeables come into play. Just make sure you get REAL size D rechargeables and not those adapters that fit around a rechargeable AA.

I did a quick ebay search and found 1 person selling the toy (only). I don't think I can post a link to an ebay auction or the mods will bring the wrath of VDr-dom down on my head...

You may also want to keep your eyes peeled and/or google the heck out of it...

Good luck!

[macrat]

I did a quick ebay search and found 1 person selling the toy (only). I don't think I can post a link to an ebay auction or the mods will bring the wrath of VDr-dom down on my head...

Well the listing is gone now.

This is my search string - it does not point to a specific eBay auction, only a general search: http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=m38&_nkw=smart+alex+-adicts

Note I added the -adicts phrase as there were a handful of hits to the Adicts' album "Smart Alex."

I will check the local Goodwill stores as it may have turned up in there. I don't think the junk haulers that took my stuff would let a big tax break like my stuff wind up in the garbage dump.

[macrat]

I finally got the part I needed. Someone was selling the toy+CD+transmitter, in its box. I bid on it right away, expecting to fork over up to $99 on it, but I picked it up for $24 + S/H Not bad.

I took a more thorough look at the Creator and Microsoft technologies. I can see the similarities, and the differences. The Creator system generates live audio using a text-to-speech output and speech recognition engine from L&H, as well as recieving audio input through a microphone in the base. Won't do well if the kid is away from the thing, it wouldn't recognize the speech through the echo. It is built with Delphi, and contains a "shopping mall" system to buy additional programming over the few books it comes with.


The Microsoft Actimates system is an extension of Learn2.com's "Agent 7" where they created a system of syncronizing a Microsoft Agent's animation to an audio stream. As Agent use dropped in favor of Flash, 7thLevel went under.

Actimates' ToyAPI is basically an early version of the Creator system. With a bit of modification practice, someone would be able to get the Creator software to send/receive from the Actimates dolls (Only Barney, Arthur, and D.W. - the Teletubby dolls have no transmitter code in the Radio Packs) It might need a bit of trickery to get the TV Pack to transmit to dolls other than their assigned characters (there is a separate data stream for each doll - awesome if you have both an Arthur and D.W. doll while watching old Arthur episodes - the Radio Pack system for Teletubbies do not have this differentiation, usually people only had one Teletubby doll, very few out there sent in for the Radio Packs which makes them quite rare.) I'm working on modifying the code in the scripting system, but the transmitter codes are probably different.

I've been digging around the patent databases. I got the Creator patents, but I have not picked up any of the Microsoft Actimates patent applications. Can a patent owner quash a competitor's patent application if there's an infringement? Or is the application too old? Or was it a "scarecrow" language like I've seen on unusual toys? (By the way, few of them, from China, say "Patenting not copy" or "Pending the patent writing, or police." in small print on the package.)