Real Lives FAQ Q. I get the error message "Cannot open world.db" when I run as a non-administrator under Windows XP or NT. How can I work around this. A. Make sure users have full read/write access to Real Lives' parent directory, usually Program Files|Educational Simulations. Also make sure that users have rights to the file PDOXUSRS.NET in the root directory of the C: drive. This file is created the first time Real Lives is run. Q. I have the Download Version and I'd like to use the zoom in/out feature. How can I do that? A. You'll need to download the hi resolution maps from here. Unzip the files into Real Lives' Tilemaps folder and the zoom feature will then be enabled. Note that the zip file is quite large (about 89 MB), so a broadband connection is recommended. Q: I downloaded Real Lives but can't install it. A: If you are having difficulty downloading Real Lives or installing after you've downloaded, please follow these instructions. 1. Make sure you are running a PC with Windows 95 or higher, or a Mac with virtual PC running an equivalent operating system. 2. Complete the download form at www.educationalsimulations.com/eval.php. 3. Click the download button and select "Open" file from the options presented. 4. When the download is complete, double click on the Lives.exe folder. (Note: this folder is a special kind of file called a "self-extracting zip file." It does not contain any harmful code). 5. You will be shown a dialogue box which contains the address in your computer where the files will be unzipped. Either copy this address, or select a new address where you want the files in the Lives.exe folder to go once they are unzipped. 6. Click Unzip. You should receive the message "11 file(s) successfully unzipped." If you do not receive this message, please contact us. 7. Open "My computer" from the Start menu. 8. In the top of the "My computer" window, you'll find an address bar. Paste the address from step 5 here, and press enter. Alternatively, you can browse to find the correct folder. This will be the location where the unzipped files were saved. 9. Click "Setup.exe" and follow the prompts through the installation process. 10. Now you are ready to use Real Lives. Q. How are the characters in Real Lives constructed? How could there be so many? A. Characters are built "on-the-fly" based on statistical information. So, for instance, if your character is born a girl in India, which is very likely, a data base of Indian girl's names is consulted as well as a database of Indian last names, Indian cities, Indian health statistics, etc. From various databases, Real Lives makes choices based on real-world statistics. This results in a huge number of possible lives. In fact, Real Lives can create billions of simulated characters. Q. Real Lives is interesting but it would be more interesting if you added ... (name your feature). Can you add that? A. Use the product suggestions page to suggest a feature. We'll consider all of these suggestions and implement the best of them.