Software/Hardware Requirements for
Galaxies Galore, Games, and More

Quick Index

Utilizing the activity online

• Web Browser: Netscape Navigator 3.0/Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0
• Plug-ins: QuickTime and Shockwave
• Computers: Any system that can run Netscape Navigator 3.0 or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0
• Operating Systems: Any system that can run Netscape Navigator 3.0 or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0
• Hints and Tips: How to configure the browser
• Troubleshooting: It's not working. What should I do?

Saving the activity to disk

• Downloading: Instructions
• Disk Space:16MB
• Operating Systems: Those that can recognize filenames with more than eight characters.

Web Browser

This activity has not been tested with any other browser.

Netscape 3.0+ can be found at http://www.netscape.com

Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0+ can be found at http://www.microsoft.com

Plug-ins

Due to the level of interactivity and the use of multimedia in this activity, both Apple's QuickTime and Macromedia's Shockwave applications are required. These plug-ins can be downloaded for free.

• To download Apple's QuickTime application go to: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/
• To download Macromedia's Shockwave go to: http://sdc.shockwave.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi

Computers

IBM compatible PC hardware requirements

CPU	486 or higher, any speed
Main Memory	Minimum: 8MB Recommended: 16MB
Operating System	Windows 95/98/NT
Display	Color required: Minimum 256 colors Recommended: 16K colors or better. Configured for 640x480 or larger.
Printer	None required
Disk Space	Only that required by Netscape Navigator Downloading the activity requires 16MB

Macintosh hardware requirements

CPU	Any that will support Netscape 3.0
Main Memory	Minimum: 8MB Recommended: 16MB
Display	Color required: Minimum 256 colors Recommended: 16K colors or better Configured for 640x480 or larger.
Printer	None required
Disk Space	Only that required by Netscape Navigator Downloading the activity requires 16MB

Operating Systems

Most UNIX systems.

Hints and Tips

• Display should be set to 640x480 pixels or better.
• Maximize the browser window to fill the screen.
• Configure the browser to hide the Location Toolbar and Personal Toolbar. This can be done from the View Menu item.
• Make sure JavaScript is enabled. To check in Netscape, do the following:
  1. Go to the Edit menu item.
  2. Select Preferences
  3. Click on Advanced
  4. Check Enable JavaScript
     JavaScript must be enabled.

Troubleshooting

• Clear the cache.
  To clear the cache in Netscape 3.0+:
  1. Go to the Edit menu item.
  2. Select Preferences
  3. Click on plus sign next to Advanced
  4. Click on Cache
  5. Click on Clear Memory Cache
  6. Click on Clear Disk Cache
  7. Click on OK
  8. Try the activity again

   

• The animations are not displaying properly.

When viewing an animation, make sure the page has stopped loading before clicking on anything. Wait for the status message "Document Done."

• Internet Explorer says "An ActiveX object is unsafe" and nothing runs.

This activity makes extensive use of Macromedia's Shockwave ActiveX component. If this is not installed or an old version exists, the above message will occur. The browser may attempt to download an updated version and it still will not run.

The solution is to go directly to Macromedia and download from their site. See Plugins for more information.

• Error Messages

If you receive either of the following messages while using Microsoft Internet Explorer to view this activity, click YES or OK when prompted.

1. "An ActiveX object on this page may be unsafe. Do you want to allow it to initialize and be accessed by scripts?"
2. "Script error, continue running scripts on this page?"

Downloading Instructions

• Download the self-extracting program gg.exe and save it on the desktop.
• Double click on gg.exe to install the activity.
• The installation will ask where you wish to install the activity's files. You can place these wherever you find convenient. The suggested location is C:
• The installation will create a folder called galaxies-galore in the directory you specified. For example, if you specified C: as the location, the activity will be located in C:\galaxies-galore.
• To run the activity, use the file browser to locate the file index.html in the galaxies-galore folder. Double-click on index.html to run the activity. For example, if you installed the activity in C:\galaxies-galore, double-click on the file C:\galaxies-galore\index.html

For Macintosh users

• You will need a ZIP utility to read the ZIP archive file gg.zip. One such utility is called ZipIT. Other ZIP utilities can be found on the Internet; one general location is at TUCOWS.
• Once you have a ZIP utility, download the zip archive file gg.zip and save it on your desktop.
• Run the ZIP utility and extract the activity from gg.zip. The suggested location for saving the activity is on the desktop.
• When extracted, a new folder called galaxies-galore will have been created.
• To run the activity, open the folder galaxies-galore and double-click on the file index.html.

For all other users

• You will need a ZIP utility to read the ZIP archive file gg.zip.
• Once you have a ZIP utility, download the zip archive file gg.zip and save it where it is convenient for you.
• Run the ZIP utility and extract the activity from gg.zip.
• When extracted, a new folder called galaxies-galore will have been created in whatever folder or directory you had specified during installation.
• To run the activity, open the folder galaxies-galore and double-click on the file index.html.