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ANSWER:

The following are recommended specifications to work with the online course system, which is officially referred to as WebCT Vista 4:

Platform:

• PC (Windows 2000 or XP)
• Mac (OS X)

Hardware:

• 128 MB of RAM
• 2 GB of free disk space
• Sound card with speakers (for courses with multimedia)
• Ethernet or Wireless network card (for high-speed Internet connection) or 56K modem (for dial-up Internet connection)
• T1, DSL, Cable, or Satellite high-speed connection (56K dial-up will work, but the online course system will run slowly).

Software:

• **Java JRE plugin (very important so that everything in the system works properly!)
  
• Microsoft Office Viewers (for viewing and printing Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Visio files)
  
• Adobe Acrobat Reader (for viewing and printing PDF files)
  
• Real Player (for viewing streaming video or listening to streaming audio clips)
  
• QuickTime (for viewing QuickTime video)
  
• Flash Player (for viewing animations or using interactive content)
  
• Shockwave Player (for viewing animations or using interactive content)
  
• Windows Media Player (for viewing streaming video or listening to streaming audio clips)

**Get Java (very important!)

1. Click here to download the correct Java version.
2. Click to Accept the License Agreement.
3. Click Window Offline Installation, Multi-language.
4. Click Run to download. Be patient!
5. Click Run to install. Be patient!
6. Follow the prompts to install the Typical Java installation. Be patient!
7. Restart your computer to complete the installation process.

NOTE: If you are using a Macintosh, click here to download Java.

Browser:

Windows Platform:

• Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1; 6.0 SP2 (XP SP2) (IE 7 is not supported)
• Netscape 7.2 (Netscape 8 is not supported)
• Mozilla 1.7
• Firefox 1.0 (Firefox 1.5 is not supported)

Macintosh Platform:

• Mozilla 1.7 (OS X only)
• Firefox 1.0 (OS X only)
• Safari 1.2, 1.3, 2.0 (OS X only)
• Unsupported Browsers: browsers running under Mac OS 9 and earlier; Firefox 1.5.

AOL Users:

If you use AOL as your Internet Service Provider (ISP), do NOT use the AOL browser.  Minimize the AOL browser and open Internet Explorer.

Download a Browser:

To download a compatible browser, click one of the following:

• Firefox 1.0.7 for Windows (US English)
• Firefox 1.0.7 for Mac (US English)
• Firefox 1.0.7 (other versions)
• Safari
• Netscape 7.2
• Netscape - earlier versions
• Mozilla
• Internet Explorer 6, included in Windows XP SP2
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 SP 1 for other Windows versions

NOTE: Internet Explorer 7, currently released in beta only, is not yet supported.  

If you download a new browser version, you will need to download it, close your browser, and reopen your browser again, and then follow the steps to configure your browser listed in the steps below.

Browser Settings:

Your browser settings will vary, depending on the browser you choose to use. WebCT has developed a browser support site that will tell you exactly how to prepare your browser settings for your specific browser.

NOTE: If you followed the steps above to download and install Java, you do not need to follow these steps again that you will find again in the instructions below.

1. Go to the WebCT Browser support site: http://www.webct.com/tuneup

2. Click Start the Browser Tune-up.

3. Click the arrow next to your operating system:

3. Confirm your browser.

4. Click Prepare your browser settings for WebCT.

5. Follow the steps you see on the page to:

1. Enable Java and switch to the Sun Java Runtime Environment.

2. Enable Javascript in your browser.

3. Enable cookies

IMPORTANT: Some browsers allow style sheets to be disabled. If your browser has this feature, do not set it to disable style sheets.

Browser Toolbars:

Uninstall Yahoo, Google, AOL, or any other Browser Toolbars

Although the browser toolbars are useful tools for searching the Internet, you must uninstall these for WebCT to work properly. Open your browser. Your toolbar (if you have one) will be immediately under the line on your browser where you can type in a web address. 
 
 

To uninstall browser toolbars:

1. Click your computer's Start button.
2. Click Control Panel. (You may need to click Settings first, and then Control Panel.)
3. Double click Add/Remove Programs.
4. Click the appropriate toolbar and click Remove.

Pop-Up Blocker Programs: 

Turn OFF pop-up blockers.

Please disable any pop-up ad blocker programs if they are installed on your system. Pop-up blocker applications work in the background while you browse the internet. When they detect a pop-up window that may be an unwanted advertisement, they automatically close the window. This functionality will prevent WebCT (Vista and Campus Edition) from performing properly.

Pop-up blockers may be installed as part of a browser toolbar, as part of your browser, as part of your virus protection software or even as a separate program. When you login to your course, and you have a pop-up blocker turned on, the Browser Checker will open and indicate that.

Examples of programs that may include pop up blockers include the following (you may want to click a link below to determine how to disable pop up blockers on your system):

• Google Toolbar
• Yahoo! Toolbar
• MSN Toolbar
• Internet Explorer browser
• Firefox browser
• Mozilla browser
• Netscape browser
• AOL 8.0 and later
• Safari browser
• ICQ Toolbar
• Norton Internet Security
• Zone Alarm Pro

If you have any further questions, please contact us for support. Thank you.

- Technical Support

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