• AARON is offered as Shareware. You can download the product at no charge. After using the fully functional product for 3 days, if you wish to continue to use AARON, we ask you to purchase a registration key for $19.95. However, the product will not time out, and the payment requirement is based on trust. Included in the product is a Register function that enables you to make the payment. See How to Register AARON.

• AARON is both a desktop application (See Using AARON) and a screensaver. To select AARON as your screensaver, see About the Screensaver.
  
  
• AARON will NOT install if:

The color setting is 256 or less. AARON will run best under True Color (24bit or 32bit) monitor settings. The minimum requirement is High Color (16bit or 65,536).

Your computer has  less than 64 Mbytes of RAM.

See Why Can't I Install AARON?

• AARON supports Internet Explorer and Netscape. Browser-dependent functions in AARON (Help, Send to a Friend, Registration) may not work if you have you have a browser other than Internet Explorer or Netscape selected as your default browser.

• AARON was designed to recognize and run with the following screen resolutions:   1024x768, 1280x1024, and 1600x1200.  If your monitor is set to display at a different screen resolution, AARON will default to the 1024x768 setting.  See Screen Resolution Issues.
  

• By default, AARON stores up to 16  images in C:\temp directory. To specify a different directory, run AARON and select the "Tools" menu item. Then select "Options."  See Change Painting Directory.

• When AARON is painting, the Menu Bar is not visible.  To see the Menu Bar, move the mouse over the Title Bar.  The only functions available when AARON is painting are 1) MultipleStop After Current, and 2) Exit.

Quick Notes About AARON (above)
System Requirements
Downloading and Installing AARON
Why can’t I install AARON?
Screen Resolution Issues
Using AARON
How to Register AARON
About the Screensaver
How to Unistall AARON
Why Can’t I Watch AARON Draw on the Web?
Why Can’t I Retrieve an AARON Image Sent to Me by a Friend?

Click here if you're looking for support using Ray Kurzweil's Cybernetic Poet.

System Requirements

Pentium or later CPU
64Meg RAM
15 Meg of hard drive space
AARON was designed for and tested on the following operating systems:
Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows ME, Windows 2000 Professional, or NT 4 Workstation Service Pack 6 or later. AARON does not run on Windows 95.
AARON requires a screen resolution of 1024x768 or higher, and is designed for use with Internet Explorer or Netscape.

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Downloading and Installing AARON

Go to http://www.kurzweilcyberart.com/aaron/download.html

Fill out the form as directed, scroll to the bottom of the page, and click "Download."
Note: Your first name, last name, and email address are required.

From the File Download box, you can:

Run the installation program from the current location
     OR
Download the AARONsetup.exe to your computer and run the installation program from there.

To run from the current location:

Select "Run this program from its current location" and follow the onscreen directions to install the program.

If you get an InstallShield message saying that an older version of Windows� Installer was found, click OK to continue.

Note: This message comes up because a version of Windows� Installer comes bundled with AARON for the convenience of those who may not already have the Installer program.

To download the setup program:

Select "Save this program to disk." Once AARON setup.exe is downloaded, locate the program on your computer, run the program, and follow the onscreen directions to install the program.

Once AARON is installed, a shortcut to AARON will appear on your desktop. The program will be in C:\Program Files\KurzweilCyberArt\AARON, unless you selected a different directory during the installation process. If prompted to do so, restart your computer before using the program.

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Be sure to select "I accept the terms on the License Agreement" in the license agreement window of the installation process.

AARON will not install on a computer that has less than 64 mg of memory or less than 16 bit color monitor settings. This is because AARON is not able to run properly unless the computer has at least 64 mg memory and at least a 16 bit color monitor setting. Also, AARON does not support Windows 95.

Memory

If you get the error message: "The amount of RAM is not adequate for running AARON," you will need to increase the memory of your computer.

Color Setting

If you get the error message: "The color settings of your system are not adequate for running AARON. The color depth must be HIGH (also known as 65,536) or better," you will need to adjust your color settings. To do this:

Go to Display Settings by going to Settings in the Start Menu, selecting Control Panel, and selecting Display, or click your right mouse button anywhere in the background of your desktop screen and select "Properties."

In the Display Properties box, select the Setting tab and choose High Color (16 bit) or True Color (32 bit).

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Screen Resolution Issues

AARON was designed to have its paintings viewed at the following screen resolutions:   1024x768, 1280x1024, and 1600x1200.  If your monitor is set  to a different screen resolution, the program will default to 1024x768.  This means that, if you screen resolution is lower, you will not be able to view the entire painting.

To change the resolution of your monitor:

Go to Display Settings by going to Settings in the Start Menu, selecting Control Panel, and selecting Display, or click your right mouse button anywhere in the background of your desktop screen and select "Properties."

In the Display Properties box, select the Setting tab and adjust the screen resolution in the Screen area box in the lower right.

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Once AARON is installed, double click on the shortcut to AARON on your desktop.

Paint One Painting

Select Painting on the Menu Bar and choose Paint One.

Multiple Paintings

Select Painting on the Menu bar, choose Multiple, and then select Paint Continuous. AARON will continue creating paintings until the program is closed or you tell the program to stop painting.

To stop painting, select Painting on the Menu bar, choose Multiple, and then select Stop After Current.

Print a Painting

To print the current painting on your screen, select Painting from the Menu bar, choose Print Current, and follow the instructions for your printer.

Review a Painting

Select Painting on the Menu bar and choose Review. From there, you can select Review Previous, Review Next, or Review Selected.

To Review a Selected painting, select a numeral from 0 to 15.

Note: Once a painting is created, it is saved to the folder C:\temp. Up to 16 paintings can be saved at one time. Once more than 16 paintings have been created, each new painting will replace the oldest painting, cycling through the file names aa0 through aa15.

To save a painting permanently, you must move it to a different folder. You may rename it for identification purposes. However, in order to access the painting file, you will need to return it to the temp folder (or other folder designated from within the application), as well as make sure it is named correctly. AARON will only recognize files named aa0-aa15.

Send to a Friend

Select Tools on the Menu Bar and choose Send to Friend. Follow the onscreen instructions, filling in your name, your email address, your friend’s name, and your friend’s email address. Instructions explaining how to view the painting that is currently on your screen will be sent to your friend.

Note:  Your friend does not need to have AARON to view artwork.  The recipient of the Send to a Friend email will be instructed to go to a web page where he or she can can view the painting. 

Change Time Delay Between Paintings

Select Tools on the Menu Bar and choose Options.  In the box next to "Delay Time" select the amount of time you want AARON to wait  after it creates a painting before it blanks the screen and starts another painting.  This will affect the delay in between paintings in the Multiple Painting function.  The screensaver is set permanently at a 15 second delay between paintings.

Change Painting Directory

Select Tools on the Menu Bar and choose Options. Click Change and browse to the folder in which you want AARON files stored.

Note: AARON paintings file are stored, by default, in the C:\temp folder.

 

AARON is offered as Shareware. You can download the product at no charge. After using the fully functional product for 3 days, if you wish to continue to use AARON, we ask you to purchase a registration key for $19.95. However, the product will not time out, and the payment requirement is based on trust. Included in the product is a Register function that enables you to make the payment.

From within AARON, select Register from the Menu Bar and choose Get Registration. Next, select "Click here to order your Registration Key." This will bring you to an online order form. Fill this out and click Register at the bottom on the page.

Follow the onscreen instructions to pay for AARON with your Credit Card. American Express, MasterCard, and Visa are accepted.

Once you are given your Registration Key, copy it, close the web page, and paste the Registration Key into the blank box, as directed, in the Registration Tool window.  The Registration Key and instructions will also be sent to you via email.

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About the Screensaver

To select AARON as your screensaver:

Go to Display Settings by going to Settings in the Start Menu, selecting Control Panel, and selecting Display, or click your right mouse button anywhere in the background of your desktop screen and select "Properties."

In the Display Propeties box, select the "Screen Saver" tab and select "Aaron_screensaver" from the menu.

Unlike most screensavers, each image that appears is an entirely original painting.   And,  as each  painting is created, it is saved to either the default folder C:\temp or the folder that you designated as the "Save to" folder. 

If you see a painting on your screen while the screensaver is active that you would like to review, and then print or send to a friend:

Note the Painting # in the Title Bar at the top of the screen, wait until the painting is finished, stop the screen saver by moving the mouse or hitting a key, and open the AARON program.  From there, Select Paintings from the Menu bar and choose Review.   Select the painting number that you would like to to review on your screen.   

Note:  The screensaver saves paintings created in the screensaver to the same folder to which  it saves paintings created within the AARON Cyberart program. Up to 16 paintings can be saved at one time. Once more than 16 paintings have been created, each new painting will replace the oldest painting, cycling through the file names AA0 through AA15.

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How to Uninstall AARON

To Uninstall AARON, go to settings in the Start Menu, select Control Panel, and selecting Add/Remove Programs.

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If you are unable to view paintings being drawn on the "Watch AARON paint right now" page, kurzweilcyberart.com/aaron/samples.html, you need make sure that your browser is Java enabled.  Netscape 4 and Internet Explorer 4 or later are recommended.

Internet Explorer 5 for the Macintosh OS uses a different Java security model which prevents the Java applet from functioning properly. You may receive Java errors when trying to watch AARON paint a sample image if you use this browser configuration.

The solution described below will allow the Java applet that paints AARON pictures to function in Internet Explorer 5.0 for the Macintosh running System 9.x. Please note that the behavior of the applet may continue to be inconsistent. Also note that this solution exposes a security risk within Java.

If you do change your security settings as directed below, we suggest that you change them back as soon as you are done. This ensures maximum security. Kurzweil CyberArt, Inc., its parent, and its subsidiaries and affiliates are not liable for any damage, loss of data, exposure, or unforseen consequences that may result from following the directions below.

1. Start Internet Explorer
2. Choose Edit > Preferences from the menu
3. Under "Web Browser" on the left, click on "Java"
4. Under "Security Options" on the right-hand panel:
   • set Byte-Code Verification: "Don't Check Code"
   • set Network Access: "Unrestricted Access"
   • un-check "Restrict Access to non-Java class files"
5. Click "OK" to close the Preferences window.

Now you should be able to reload the page and see the AARON applet paint a picture.

Another solution is to use Internet Explorer 4.5 for Macintosh, which does not exhibit the same errors as Internet Explorer 5.0.

Note:  On the "Watch AARON paint right now" page, the drawing is actually being recreated via a Java applet.

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Why Can’t I Retrieve an AARON Image Sent to Me by a Friend?

If you are unable to view the painting on the web page sent to you by a friend, you need make sure that your browser is Java enabled.  Netscape 4 and Internet Explorer 4 or later are recommended.

Note:  On the "Watch AARON paint right now" page, the drawing is actually being recreated via a Java applet.

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If you need additional help, email [email protected]