Welcome to SoundSwitch If, like me, you happen to do most of your creative work in the middle of the night, then the last thing you need is your Mac's Startup Chime announcing to your entire household that you're at it again after midnight. And so SoundSwitch was born: an AppleScript utility that eliminates the Startup Chime by setting your Mac's sound level to zero at shutdown, then resets the volume to your preferred level after startup. You can, of course, turn the sound off yourself or simply plug in a headphone jack - if you happen to remember in time... How it Works To install SoundSwitch, run the SoundSwitch Installer (just double click or do whatever you normally do...). This will install SoundSwitch in your shutdown items folder. At shutdown it switches your sound off and relocates to your startup items folder... from where it switches the sound back on - after startup - and relocates to your shutdown items folder. And so ad infinitum until you remove it. Cool, huh? After your first startup with SoundSwitch installed you'll be able to set sound level preferences. To uninstall, either run the installer again (if you've already got SoundSwitch installed it will find it and remove it) or locate and trash SoundSwitch yourself. Extras Since SoundSwitch interacts with your Mac at startup, I've also built in a simple password protection routine. Please don't mistake this for an industrial strength security programme; it's designed to block casual access only, nothing more than that. Anyone who knows their Mac systems will be able to get around it and anyone looking over your shoulder will be able to read your password. If you want to hide your password, hold down the option/alt key as you set it and use it... odds are you'll find yourself typing in Greek. Limitations SoundSwitch won't kick in if your Mac crashes: it needs a standard shutdown; nor if you startup with extensions disabled: it needs a standard startup. Disclaimer All the usual disclaimers apply: use of SoundSwitch is entirely at your own risk. No warranty is offered and no liability is accepted. Your life is in your own hands: handle it with care. System Requirements Mac OS Classic 8.5 or higher; AppleScript. It may work on earlier systems, but I haven't tested it on them. Tested on a PB1400 (Mac OS 8.5) and an iMac (Mac OS 9.1). No, there isn't a Mac OS X version (but yes, I have got Mac OS X - just haven't figured its Applescript routines out yet...). If SoundSwitch doesn't work on your system, email me on soundswitch@groomsville.co.uk along with details of your system and I might try to figure out a solution. Offer to pay and I might even write you a custom version. Download Now (14K) Distribution Info Shareware distributors are welcome to include SoundSwitch on Web sites, CD ROMs etc provided that: (i) it is not modified in any way (suggestions for modifications/improvements are most welcome, however); (ii) the accompanying file "About SoundSwitch" goes with it; (iii) no charge is made for it. A copy of any CD ROM that RWI appears on would be appreciated, but is not a prerequisite to its inclusion. Please email me for my snail-mail address. Enjoy! Linkware from Seriously Lazy Software: if you use it & like it, please add a link from your website to mine. © Phil Groom, March 2002 phil@groomsville.co.uk