ReadMe

README -- CREN Virtual Seminars CD-ROM

This document describes the installation and basic use of the "CREN Virtual Seminars" CD-ROM. Because of the specific, advanced technologies used, we urge you read this document before you begin.

It is very important to have an appropriate version of Netscape Navigator and Progressive Networks RealPlayer plugin properly installed; they are used throughout this Virtual Seminar. It is especially important to have the correct RealPlayer plugin, although we also learned during the testing of the Virtual Seminar CD-ROMs that individuals are often not clear which version(s) of Navigator they have on their computer. Thus we recommend you install a new copy of Netscape 3.01 and the RealPlayer plugin from the Install folder on the CD-ROM.

WHAT IS A CREN VIRTUAL SEMINAR?

"CREN Virtual Seminars" CD-ROMs are a series on advanced networking topics developed and presented by experts from higher education. Audio and video of each presentation is included on the CD-ROM, as are the speaker's presentation slides and transcription of each presentation. The CD-ROM's interface allows you to select the presentation you wish to attend. Depending on your processor speed, you will be able to either watch video or only hear the speaker's audio. In either case you will be able to view the speaker's presentation slides and have full access to reference and other resources on the CD-ROM.

The presentations are designed within a Web-browser interface that coordinates the presentations and runs the plug-in applications necessary for the audio and video portions of the presentations.

This CD-ROM contains all of the software needed to successfully view the presentations. You must either install these applications before using the CD-ROM, or have previously installed them on your system:

Netscape Navigator 3.01 Netscape 3.01 is the browser that has been tested most thoroughly with the presentation data, and which we expect to work most reliably. You may find that other browsers also work, but we recommend using Netscape 3.01. If you have an earlier version of Netscape, we recommend upgrading to version 3.01 as provided on the CD-ROM. At the time of release Netscape 4.0 has not been tested and should be used with caution. Internet Explorer has difficulty handling JavaScript, it is best not to use this browser.
Browser Plug-ins Platform-specific browser plug-ins are included for Macintosh (Power PC) and for Windows 95. Please launch the installers and follow the step-by-step instructions. You will find these installers in the folder named Install. Included is RealPlayer for video; the key plug-in for this CD-ROM. Some sections will also need the QuickTime plug-in. If you wish to view some of the included references, you'll need the Acrobat plug-in.

As with any installation of new software, we recommend you make copies or backups of any current versions of your software before proceeding with the installation from the CD-ROMs.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

The RealMedia plug-in application that operates the video portion of the presentations requires a fairly high-performance system for optimum performance. For best results you should use a PC with a 150 Mhz Pentium processor or faster with Windows 95; or a Macintosh 150 Mhz 603 or faster processor running MacOS 7.5.3 or higher. Netscape should be given 16 to 24 Megs of RAM. Multimedia capability is required, including SoundBlaster compatible sound on Win95, or SoundManager 3 on MacOS. External speakers are highly recommended. This program is not compatible with the PC 486 processor or Mac 680X0 systems.

GETTING STARTED

To begin viewing the Virtual Seminar, insert the CD-ROM and double-click the file called "STARTUP.HTM". Netscape should launch automatically* and will invoke the required plug-ins as they are needed to display the presentation data. First, you will see a series of simple Set-up screens followed by a title screen. Next there will be an audio/video introduction by Ira Fuchs, President and CEO of CREN. Following the introduction, a main menu of the seminar presentations will appear. You can use this main menu to select any presentation on the disk.

When you have selected a presentation, the associated data files will be loaded automatically. Video of the speaker will appear in the upper left corner of the browser window. The speaker's presentation slides will display in a larger portion of the browser window to the right of the speaker, automatically updating from slide to slide as the speaker proceeds. Below the video of the speaker there is a Table of Contents, with each Content Header corresponding to a speaker's slide. You may click on any of these Content Headers to go directly to that section of the presentation. The Main Menu button in the lower, right of the browser window allows you to return to the Main Menu. Consult the FAQ for further explanation of navigation controls.

*(Note: If you have another browser loaded on your computer, that browser may be configured as the default browser and may launch instead of Netscape 3.01. If this is the case, first start Netscape, and then select File, Open File from the Netscape menu bar. Select the file "STARTUP.HTM" from the CD-ROM. The presentation will launch from within Netscape.)

MISCELLANEOUS

Note that in both video modes there are a number of situations where we have chosen not to show the video and instead deliver audio only; at those times you will see CREN Virtual Seminar and logo on a black background. This is a normal condition and does not indicate there is anything wrong with the playback of your CD-ROM.
If you don't see video or graphics where you expect them and instead see a broken plugin symbol, check the "about plug-ins..." menu selection in Netscape and see if the RealPlayer plugin in there. If not, try reinstalling it.
Why isn't the installation process simpler? We expect these CD-ROMs to be used in many cases by people who are knowledgeable about their computing systems and already have relevant software installed and configured. We therefore provide all the pieces, so that each person needs to add only what is needed for their system.
If you are having trouble with your installation and operation, there are several points to check. First, make sure you have only one copy of the Netscape browser on your machine and it is the proper version. If you have more than one copy, make sure you've installed the plugins into the plugin folder of the specific browser you wish to use; note also you may need to launch that browser first before clicking on STARTUP.HTM.
Second, don't try to use Internet Explorer as your browser, rather than Netscape. There are problems with its handling of Javascript that will give all sorts of problems.
RealMedia is used throughout the CD-ROM. The playback of the video and presentation slides is very processor-intensive. If you are having playback problems, try changing the Set-up (accessible via the FAQ) to the smaller video or to audio-only modes of operation. Both of these modes are less demanding of processor power.
Some Macintosh users have reported that increasing the memory allocated to Netscape to 16 Megs or more may be important for best operation. There are many parameters to memory management. The simplest rule of thumb is - if you have the memory - use it!
There is an interaction between RealMedia and Netscape that causes duplicate images of the video frame to show up elsewhere in the window. Sometimes it is a fraction of the original, sometimes the whole image. It seems more likely to happen if you move the mouse during playback. Later versions of Netscape or RealMedia may fix this problem. One method of cleaning up the current screen is to click the Back button on the Control Panel. This forces the screen to refresh.
The video is designed for use at a setting of 16 bit or 24 bit color depth. You may experience palette shifts when operating at 8 bit color depth, especially in Windows 95. 8 bit operation in Windows 95 isn't recommended.
The interactive design intention is that a pointing hand appears whenever the cursor passes over a selectable item on the screen. However, this is not as reliable as could be hoped, partly because of the complexities of the interaction between RealMedia and Netscape, which is exacerbated if the processor if fully loaded keeping up with the media stream off the CD-ROM.
We thought it would be helpful to list some of the symptoms that appear when processor power is inadequate.
- There may be slow responses to mouse clicks, sometimes requiring a double click rather than a single click.
- Video frames may be dropped; this is usually noted on the information line at the bottom of the Netscape window.
- Some of the graphics in the upper right frame are skipped. (Clicking the Pause and then the Play button on the Control Panel in the lower right will replay that section from the buffer and often that is enough to allow correct display.)
- Only portions of the screen appear; ie there are no graphics in the upper right and no Table of Contents in the lower left. (This usually happens only when starting a presentation, and it is alleviated by returning to the Main Menu and beginning the same presentation again.)
- The References do not appear when selected in the Control Panel. (Clicking the References button again will usually correct this.)
In each case, one means of resolving the problem is to use Set-up (which may be selected from the Main Menu) to switch from the large video to small video mode, or to the audio-only mode: each in turn requires less CPU capability. Other steps that may improve performance include turning off Virtual Memory on a Macintosh, and selecting at least 1 megabyte as a disk cache on Macintosh or Windows 95 systems.
To improve performance on slower Windows 95 systems, we suggest you allocate a larger amount of cache memory for the CD-ROM. To do this, first close any programs you are using and go to the Windows 95 "Control Panels" folder and select "System". On the panel that is then displayed, select the tab labeled "Performance". At the bottom of the resulting panel is a button for advanced settings of the "File System", which you should select. This displays a panel which has a tab for "CD-ROM", which should be selected. On the resulting panel is a setting for "Read-ahead optimization"; set it to "Full" to gain a large cache memory, preferably over 1 megabyte. You will then be prompted to restart the system.
To improve performance on slower Macintosh systems, we suggest you allocate a larger amount of cache memory for the CD-ROM. To do this first close any programs you are using and then go to the Macintosh "Control Panels" folder and select "Memory". In the panel that is then displayed, make sure that "Disk Cache" is "On" and that the amount of cache is 1 megabyte or more. You will then be prompted to restart the system.

FOR MORE HELP
If you have any problems or questions using this CD-ROM, you may find additional information and updates at the CREN Virtual Seminars web site https://seminars.cren.net/Tech.html or you can send e-mail to: help@seminars.cren.net
For information on ordering additional copies of the CD-ROMS, gaining additional access to the web site, or suggestions for future virtual seminars, please send email to info@seminars.cren.net
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