Internet Browsers | Quicktime 4 | Acrobat for Printing | Java

Internet browsers:

For Macs: Netscape 4.0 or higher, or Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher.

For Macintosh we recommend IE 5.0 due to faster JAVA.

Mac IE5: To maximize vertical screen space turn on the Explorer Bar. (View: Explorer Bar or Cmd.-T) Click on the left facing arrow toward the top of the Explorer Bar. You now have about an inch more vertical screen space

For Windows: Netscape 4.0 or higher, or Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher.

QuickTime 4

QuickTime 3 or higher and the QuickTime 2.0.1 plug-in for Mac or Windows are needed to view the videos. QuickTime 4 or higher will be needed to view streaming video that we plan to set up in the future. QuickTime includes software that will allow your Internet browser to view QuickTime and other multimedia file formats in your web pages.

Downloading and installing the QuickTime software is not technically difficult, but it may be time consuming: specifically, it may take anywhere between 5 and 25 minutes to download and install this software. If you are using a computer in a networked setting, office or computer lab in your school, installing this software may be a task for your network administrator.

For Macs:

Installing the QuickTime software for Macintosh

1. Download the QuickTime software from the Apple web site by clicking here (http://www.apple.com/quicktime/). Follow the directions on the download pages. The software can be downloaded for free but some user information needs to be provided.
2. Double-click on the "QuickTime Installer" icon to open it.
3. Read the first window of the installation process and select "continue." You will then be presentedwith a license agreement that you should review. Accept the license agreement by clicking on the "Agree" button. You then select the type of installation you want to perform: "Minimum", "Full" or "Custom."
4. You do not need QuickTime Pro to watch the videos so you can leave the next page blank and hit "Continue" to install the software.

Installing the QuickTime Plug-In for Macintosh

1. Install the QuickTime software as described in the section above. The QuickTime Plug-In is placed in the QuickTime folder.
2. Open the QuickTime folder and locate the plug-in. Click and drag the plug-in into your Internet browser plug-ins folder.
3. Quit and then relaunch your Internet browser.

For Windows:

Installing the QuickTime software for Windows

1. QuickTime takes advantage of DirectDraw and DirectSound. It is important for you to have the latest drivers for your video and sound cards. You may also need the current version of DirectX.
2. Download the QuickTime software from the Apple web site by clicking here (http://www.apple.com/quicktime/). Follow the directions on the download pages. The software can be downloaded for free but some user information needs to be provided.
3. On Windows 98 machines a message comes up stating "You have chosen to download a file - QuickTime Installer.exe and gives you the option of running the program from the current location or save it to disk. Select run from current location. If you elect to save a disk will need to be provided.
4. A second message asks if you want to install and run QuickTime Installer? Select "Yes."
5. The QuickTime Installer comes up. Follow the detailed instructions. Most users will only need the "Minimum" version of Quicktime
6. Quicktime is then downloaded to your computer and installed into your Programs folder and the required plug-ins are place into your internet browsers.

Viewing the Video Clips

Each time you visit this video example you can start downloading the video clip by clicking at the picture or movie frame shown. The controller shown at the bottom of the movie uses controls similar to those in a VCR to let you play or pause the video and control the volume of the sound. The running time and file size are indicated below each picture. The download time for a 1 MB file can vary from a few seconds to a few minutes depending on the type of connection you have.

Tip 1. The default configuration of the QuickTime plug-in does not save the downloaded movie in disk cache, if you leave the web page where the video example is and then return, you will have to download the video clip again. This setting can be changed as follows: Click and hold the mouse button on the movie or at the far right of the movie controller click and hold on the downward pointing triangle. A pop-up menu appears. Select Plug-In Settings. The Plug-In Settings screen appears. Check the box "Save movies in disk cache."

Tip 2. The default configuration of the QuickTime plug-in plays the movie automatically. This may cause the movie to pause during viewing. This setting can be changed as follows: Click and hold the mouse button on the movie or at the far right of the movie controller click and hold on the downward pointing triangle. A pop-up menu appears. Select Plug-In Settings. The Plug-In Settings screen appears. Uncheck the box "Play movies automatically."

Adobe Acrobat for printing lesson plans:

Adobe¨ Acrobat¨ Reader is free, and freely distributable, software that lets you view and print Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files. Illuminations creates PDF files of all printable content. The user then has complete control over the which pages to print and how they will look when printed. This is especially useful for our Internet-Based Lesson Plans as many have handouts that need to be formatted properly.

With this download you will receive the most recent version of Acrobat Reader that is available for your language and platform. (Mac or PC) Complete instructions are at the download site. http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html

Installing JAVA :

For Macs:

Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher users: Download Macintosh Runtime Java (MRJ) from Apple's website http://www.apple.com/java/ . Follow the instructions on the website to install. In Internet Explorer go to the Edit |Preferences... | Java | Java Options and be sure that the "Java Virtual Machine" is set to "Apple MRJ" \

Netscape 4.0 or higher includes JAVA built-in. To guarantee compatibility with the activities on the Illumination site (in addition to compatibility with other Java programs), you need to install some software on your machine.

If you are running OS 8.6 or higher, then your machine probably is running MRJ2.1 or higher. HOWEVER, you will still need to install the MRJ Plugin for Netscape. If the applets are not working for you, please install the latest version of MRJ before contacting the Illuminations team.

Installing MRJ Plugin

After you have installed MRJ 2.1 or higher, you need to install the MRJ Plugin. This plugin allows Netscape 4.x to utilize the MRJ software, and was developed at Mozilla.org. http://www.mozilla.org/oji/MRJPlugin.html

1. Download the MRJ Plugin. Your browser should automatically unstuff the file "MRJPlugin.sit.hqx" as the folder "MRJPlugin."

2. Open the "MRJPlugin" folder, and choose "as List" from the "View" menu in the Finder. You'll see the following items:
   

3. Move the files "MRJ Plugin" and "MRJPlugin.jar" from the "Plugin for 4.X" folder to your browser's "Plug-ins" folder.

Verification of Installation

After you have installed MRJ 2.1+ and the MRJ Plugin, reboot your machine and then return to the page that brought you here. The activity should appear after a short delay. If you have any quetsions, please e-mail illuminations@mum.edu.

For Windows:

Coming soon.

Internet Browsers | Quicklime 4 | Acrobat for Printing | Java