System Requirements Check

Chapter Links

System Requirements:

Your Computer

The type of computer you use is not too important as long as it can access the Internet. Here are some minimum suggested configurations, though you may have satisfactory results with less powerful machines:

PCs should have at least a Pentium processor running Windows 95 or better; for some courses you may need a sound card.
Macs should have a PowerPC processor running System 7.5 or better.

In any case, we recomend 32 megabytes of memory or more. It's also good to have some extra space on your hard drive, especially if you need to upgrade your browser software.

Your Computer's Software

This course makes extensive use of Flash animation and sound. Do you see an animated graphic below? If so, you have the Flash Plugin. Click the animated graphic. If you do not hear a sound, then make sure your computer can handle sound before you proceed. If you do not see any animation below, you do not currently have the Flash plugin.
No animation on the left, get the free Flash plugin in here:

In general we recommend the Netscape browser software, version 4. Microsoft Internet Explorer, version 4 or 5 is also acceptable, but you may encounter some minor problems with it. Using the AOL browser is not advisable! You can use AOL to connect to the Internet, but after making the connection minimize AOL and open up Netscape to access WebCT.

Your browser needs to handle scripting. The one you are currently using either does not have that capability or has it turned off. Before you do anything else, find out what browser you have. Try clicking on Help > About... or close your browser and watch for the version when you start it up again. Then see the appropriate instructions for Netscape 4, Internet Explorer 4, or Internet Explorer 5.

Navigation

Here is a quick introduction to symbols you might find on this site:

	Indicates an interactive exercise. Always explore these.
	Indicates a lecture using Flash animation and audio. These lectures correspond to your notes, with added explanation (in the form of audio and text).
	Navigational buttons used in Flash animation. From left to right, they are, Rewind (go back), Play, Stop, and Forward (or to the end of that lecture).
	Navigational buttons used in Flash animation to get the previous or next lecture, respectively. Within a chapter, you can use these buttons to hear all lectures for that chapter.
	These buttons take you to your WebCT site. To take the self test or quiz, you need to know your username and password for the site. Remember that you will be able to take the quiz only during assigned times. Check your syllabus or your WebCT site.

To begin, click on the links to the left, or click here to go to Chapter 1.