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Touch-3D on Windows and Linux

Even though Touch-3D is a Mac only program it is possible to run it under some other operating systems using the ARDI Executor 2.1 Macintosh emulator. This emulator works on Intel based computers and supports DOS 6.0, Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, OS/2, and Linux.

Known problems with the Executor.
Even though we are in the early stages of testing, it seems as if the entire Touch-3D package runs very well under ARDI Executor. So far we have found that it has some problems with printing. Exporting and importing to other programs such as VectorWorks and AutoCad seems to work very well.

Performance
Since the ARDI Executor is an emulator, you can expect it to be slower than on a real Macintosh, but with a reasonably modern Pentium, the performance is well within what can be considered to be acceptable. Preliminary tests indicate that a 300 MHz Pentium II running on Windows NT 4.0 will have about the same performance as a 100 MHz PowerPC Mac.

Limitations
Besides the extra step of having to start the emulator before you can start Touch-3D, there is also other limitation. The ARDI Executor only supports PostScript printers, but this limitation can be fixed by downloading a (free) copy of GhostPrint.

ARDI Executor demos and pricing
The ARDI Executor costs $150 for Windows and $ 75 for Linux. Please contact ARDI for a more detailed price list. You can download a free demo version of the ARDI Executor from the ARDI web page at http://www.ardi.com or contact them at:

ARDI
Suite 4-101
1650 University Blvd., NE
Albuquerque, NM 87102
USA
+1 888 BUY ARDI (toll free; for orders only)
+1 505 766 91115 (for tech support)
+1 505 766 5153 (fax)
questions@ardi.com for questions
sales@ardi.com for sales

Installing the Touch-3D demo running under ARDI Executor/Windows.

• Download the ARDI Executor demo from Ardi (http://www.ardi.com)
  
• Install it on your hard disk.
  
• Download the Touch-3D demo and save it as a file on your hard disk. Don't try to do something with it in Windows. Instead you should look for an option to just SAVE THE DOWNLOAD AS A FILE without doing anything with it (you have to remember that this is a Mac file).
  
• Place the downloaded Touch-3D file in the Executor Apps folder / disk something / Apps / Commercial / place it here /.
  
• Start the Ardi Executor emulator.
  
• Locate a program called Stuffit Expander / disk something / Apps / Demoware / Stuffit Expander (folder) /Expander (program) /, which is the Mac equivalent to WinZip, and use it to expand the file. Double-click on the Expander program to start it.
  
• Select Open from the File menu, and then locate the Touch-3D download file. The rest works automatically.
  
• Quit the Expander program by selecting Quit from the FIle menu.
  
• Locate the Touch-3D program now located in the / disk something / Apps / Commercial / Touch-3D (folder) / Touch-3D (program) / and double-click on it to start the program.
  
• Run the Touch-3D demo.

That's it!

Note that there are some "movies" showing how to model a boat, a car body, a computer monitor, and a phone using Touch-3D. There is also an Introduction movie that you may want to look at. You run it by double clicking on them on them (from inside the emulator of course).

The manual is available in PDF format and runs on Windows as is (if you have Acrobat Reader installed of course). If you don't have the Reader, you can download if from Adobe at www.adobe.com

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