Please note: The BBC Sport's Desktop Monkey is no longer available for download or supported by the BBC.
FAQs
Below are some answers to frequently asked questions about Desktop Monkey.
Why does Monkey need Air?
Adobe Air stands for "Adobe Integrated Runtime". It is a product from the same company that provides Flash, so it is safe to install and use. See more details here:
Adobe AirWe are using Adobe Air because it allows us to try out different ways of providing services to your desktop, and builds on the success of products like the BBC News Ticker.
It also allows us to build desktop products that will work across PC, Mac and Linux desktops in a generic way. Previously these products have been restricted to just PCs.
To use Air, you download and install it onto your computer, allowing you to run applications that use the environment provided by Air to work on your computer.
These applications don't have the same restrictions as web pages in that they can be running all the time on your desktop, or in the background, providing services and updates when your web browser is closed.
In this respect they are more like applications than websites. You can choose to close the application at any time just like a normal application and it will shut down. Once you choose to close it, it will not be doing anything in the background.
The journey to Linux support
At the moment Adobe Air is a new product and has limited support for Linux. It will soon have full support, but in the meantime you may find it does not work properly on Linux.
You may want to keep an eye on the Adobe Air Linux pages to see when it will be fully launched by Adobe.
Adobe Air for LinuxSorry for any inconvenience this causes - we are fully committed to supporting these type of products on the widest possible range of platforms.
Pigsy keeps eating my memory!
Monkey is a relatively small application and should not have any effect on your machine's performance.
If you find you are having issues - perhaps using too much memory, or slowing things down - then stop Monkey and start him again.
Monkey refuses to work
If you are using the application at work, then you should check your company policy for installing applications to see if there are any restrictions.
If you get messages about not having administration rights, then this is likely also to be the case.
If you are using a home computer and are able to login as a different user with administration rights then this should allow you to install the application.
If you are having other problems, try this troubleshooting guide on the Adobe site, which provides information around some common issues:
Adobe troubleshooting guideI want to change to one of the other characters
The application shows an icon in your toolbar on Mac or PC, and if you click this you will see preferences for changing which character you can see.
I want to change my name
Unfortunately you can't change the name you used unless you re-install the application.
Monkey forgot to remind me about an event
It is likely this is because Monkey has been put to sleep. If you turn off Monkey then he is not able to remind you about the events you asked for.
He will continue to work as long as you can see the application running in full mode, or as a ticker.
Water polo not listed as a separate sport
Some events, like water polo and BMX, fall under a broader Olympic sporting umbrella. So water polo stories will appear if you select swimming, and BMX stories appear if you select cycling.
I want Monkey to be open all the time
In Monkey's preferences you can change how Monkey looks and works, with an option to open Monkey automatically every time you log in.
Monkey doesn't float my cloud
If you want to turn off Monkey, close the application as you would any other application and it will stop working - and will not continue to do anything in the background you can't see.
If you want to uninstall Monkey, then you can do so from the "Add/remove programmes" section of your computer's control panel on the PC, or by dragging the application into the trash on your Mac.
Adobe: Removing Air applications
RELATED INTERNET LINKS:
Web Glossary: What is Adobe Air?
Wikipedia: Adobe Integrated Runtime
Adobe Labs: Air developer FAQ
BBC Topics: China '08
BBC coverage of Beijing
Olympics blog: Monkey's journey begins
Beijing 2008
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