It is neither fun nor productive for anyone wishing to participate in a program like this to get on the Net without the horsepower or basic skills that are needed to work easily and proactively. Given the state of the art in 1999 all this should not be a huge deal for the sort of people who are involved here. But it is not to be forgotten that we come into this with different background and skill levels, and it is sure that you will be thwarted, frustrated and sooner or later give up on the whole venture if you are not in a position to interact with the Web site and the others at least at some acceptable minimum level of performance. When life is bad on the Net, it's truly rotten. But that too is a choice: it does not have to be like that. However, you do need a strategy, exactly as you would if you are trying to survive the rigors of physical commuting on roads that come to a standstill in rush hour.

So... if you are not absolutely sure, and before you venture any further into this part of The Commons, let us quickly give you right here at the top give you a summary of the high points of what you need to have in hand. A survival strategy of sorts.

Hardware

In order to be able to participate fully and fluently, you may wish to review the following system requirements and ensure that your computer has the proper hardware and software set-up. The following should be treated as an absolute minimum. If your present system does not meet them, please let us know and perhaps we can make some suggestions. It is possibly worth noting that a fully loaded high quality system that greatly exceeds these specifications can be readily had on the market today for less than $1,000 - less than many of us spend on travel and hotels for a single conference. So, it should not be a problem of money.

Pentium computer (or MAC equivalent)

Windows 95, 98 or Windows NT (or MAC equivalent) (Or even better, Unix in any of its flavors is you can handle it.)

32 megabytes of RAM (strict minimum, but you will go sloooow)

Monitor: Good stable 15" or better monitor (17"+ is preferred for easy reading)

256-color display, as an absolute minimum. Best viewed at 800x640 or better. (Note: This site does not look particularly good in 256 colors, but it can work)

Performance video card (4 MB minimum)

The Sound Card "Option"

• Sound card (SoundBlaster compatible)
• Real Audio/video, MS NetMeeting, ICQ (all free as betas. More on these in Software)

The sound card was once an option, but in truth it no longer is. More and more use is being made of sound for communicating on the Net, and it is our intention to make extensive use of it in the months ahead on the network.

It is worth noting that a fully loaded high quality system that greatly exceeds the above specifications can be readily had on the market today for less than $1,000 - less than many of us spend on travel and hotels for a single conference today. So, it should not be a problem of money.

Communications

You will of course need an Internet connection and a modem, and there can be no doubt that the absolute minimum specification for the latter will be 28.8 or better. Obviously 56k, ISDN, DSL, cable or T1 is better yet, and there can be no doubt that faster is better here.

• Install a version 4.0 or 5.0 browser (preferably Internet Explorer or Netscape 4.03 or higher). 
• Select a screen resolution of 800 x 600 or higher. 
• Select either High Color or True Color; this site does not look good in 256 colors. 
• If your video card and monitor are not capable of this performance, it is time to consider replacing them with a 4 MB (8, 16) video card and a 17" (19, 21) monitor. We have had great success with Matrox Mystique cards running Iiyama MT-9017T monitors at a resolution of 1152 x 864 in True Color at 96 Hz. The image is crisp and flicker-free. If you stare at your monitor for hours every day, you need a good display.  

Using a Low-Resolution Display

• You need all the screen real estate you can get, so follow these suggestions : 
• Use the Maximize button on your browser to obtain the maximum usable browser area. 
• Close browser toolbars you don't need (the first three items on the View menu). 
• Choose icons OR text, but not both. Keyboard shortcuts make it possible to close some toolbars entirely.  

Scrolling and Printing

• Click in a frame to active it for cursor-key scrolling or for printing - Your browser  needs to know which frame to print. That's a right click, of course.  

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Three Tips for the Road

• When the traffic slows to a crawl on the Web, get off and do something else
  In Europe you can do yourself a very big favor indeed by avoiding peak hour traffic and moving on the Web, why not?, sustainably. You really do want to make the right choice on this, since as things slow down efficiency suffers and patience runs out. The worst hours seem to be from 15:00 (nine a.m. back on the East Coast) to 19:00 Paris time. Best are mornings, the earlier the better, and later at night. The crunch over in the United States is worse during the working day. Play it by ear, but when things get bad, please don't insist.

• Graphics Off? If you have to!
  If you are using a browser that supports graphics and have a slow modem or a slow connection, you might consider turning off the graphics loading mode. This can make a BIG difference in terms of the speed of operation!

• When in doubt, complain!
  If you are having a problem, if you are running into something that you don't like or do not quite understand, try writing us a private note (don't bother the group with it). We are here for that, and you may even find that you get some help or satisfaction.

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