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• What is Microsoft® Agent?

  Microsoft® Agent is a software technology that enables an enriched form of user interaction that makes using and learning to use a computer, easier and more natural.

  Surfbuddies Mail uses this technology to enhance the child's experience. The agent character is used to reinforce and inform the child of the program's actions. The best part is that by clicking a button, the agent will read any email the child has recieved out loud. Kids really love this feature.

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• What are the SurfBuddies mail server names?

  If you have signed up for a SurfBuddies child's email account and you wish to use a POP3 email client, you will need to enter the following names into the Incoming and Outgoiing mail server fields of the child configuration Servers tab screen.

  Incoming (POP3) Server:   mail.surfbuddies.net

  Outgoing (SMTP) Server:  mail.surfbuddies.net

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How do I ... ?

• Enable the Microsoft Agent Characters in SurfBuddies WebMail?

· In order for the Microsoft Agent Characters to operate correctly, you need 2 Microsoft files installed on your local computer. If you do not have Microsoft Agent already installed, you can download a self extracting file containing both of them from our web site. Sorry, MSAgent only operates under Windows using Internet Explorer as the browser.

Click this button to download the self extracting file containing the 2 MSAgent Driver files. 

Once downloaded, run the file to extract the agent driver files then run both of them. The files are the MSAgent Driver and the Text-To-Speech Engine. These files are also available from the Microsoft web site.

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• Change the Microsoft Agent Character in SurfBuddies WebMail?

· Log in to SurfBuddies WebMail as the child. 
· Push the Kid's Goodies button.
· Select a character from the drop-down list. 
· Push the Save Changes Button.

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• Set up SurfBuddies Mail for more than one child?

· To get to the Add Child page select the Parental Setup item under the Parents menu. 
· Enter the parent password when prompted.
· Click on the Children tab of the Parental Setup form. 
· Push the Add Child Button.

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• Change the Microsoft® Agent character?

  · Select the "Select Agent Character..." item under the Kids menu. 
  · A standard File Open Dialog is displayed which allows the selection of a new Agent Character.
  · Select the desired Agent Character and click the "Open" button. 
  · To find how to get additional Agent Characters CLICK HERE.

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• Keep my settings when I upgrade from the Trial to the Registered version?

  · In order to keep your existing children and settings, DO NOT UNINSTALL the Trial Version.
  · Run the install program which is named: "SurfbuddiesMail-reg.exe".
  · Select the Reinstall/Update option and finish the installation.
  

  That is all there is to it! This will preserve all children and preference settings you had set up in the Trial Version.

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Trouble Shooting ...

• The MS Agent (Peedy the Parrot) doesn't speak out loud.

  · The Microsoft Agent Characters use the 'Wave' output driver of Windows. Make sure that Wave output the voulme is up and it is not muted. You can review the settings by double clicking the speaker icon on your Windows taskbar.

  · If you are running Windows XP you may need to update the Speech-to-Text driver. An up to date driver can be obtained from Microsoft at: SAPI 4.0 speech runtime support or you can visit the Microsoft Agent home page at: http://www.microsoft.com/msagent.

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• I can recieve emails but I can not send.

  · Go into Parental Setup and edit the child identity which is having the problem.

  . Identity Tab:

  • Check that the child's email address is correctly entered into the field labeled: Email Address. The format expected is that of a valid email address.

  · Servers Tab. 

  • Make sure that the field labeled Account Name contains the correct value. Depending on the email provider, the name is typically either the full email address of the child or just that portion of the address before the @ character. Check with your email provider for the correct format.

  • Verify that the correct account password is entered into the Password field.

  • Verify that the correct server names (or addresses) are entered into both Incoming and Outgoing Server fields. Check with your email provider for these values.

  • Your outgoing email server may require additional authentication in order to send emails. Check with your email provider for this information.

  • Finally, some email providers require that users first check for new incoming email at least once during a session before sending is allowed. This is done so that valid users are identified during the check for new mail operation and their connection information is "remembered" for a limited amount of time. After checking for new mail it is possible to then send your email. This is a variation of user authentication which does not require additional program configuration.

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Where can I get ... ?

• Safe email account(s) for my child(ren)?

  · SurfBuddies offers email accounts for children. SurfBuddies Webmail is the latest offering from SurfBuddies. SurfBuddies Webmail provides inexpensive browser accessible and POP3/SMTP accessible email accounts designed specifically for children. CLICK HERE for details.

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• Additional Microsoft® Agent Characters for SurfBuddies Mail Client for Windows?

· Click on one of the buttons below...

        

               

... or CLICK HERE to visit the Microsoft® Agent Download page.

... or CLICK HERE to visit the Microsoft® Agent Web Ring for additional 3rd party Characters.

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