System Requirements
The virtual microscope (VM) is designed to work on a networked computer running any modern operating system and internet browser with JavaScript enabled.

Internet Connection
The VM does not require installation of any applications from Stardust@Home.

Each focus movie (FOV) constitutes a 0.5 Mb download, or approximately 40 12 kbyte sized jpeg images. A dial-up internet connection (~40 kbps) will require about 90 seconds per movie. Dial-up users are not precluded from taking part in the stardust@home search, but we do recommend a faster connection for ease of use.

With a fast internet connection you should see no delay as you click through the movies as the next movie downloads in the background (but read on for some browser specific issues).

Operating systems
We have tested and received positive feedback from users of Mac OS X 10.2 and above, Windows XP Home and Professional versions, and Linux and Unix. We have not tested or received feedback about Mac OS 9.x

Browsers
Windows browsers: the latest versions of Internet Explorer, Netscape, Firefox.
Mac OS X browsers: the latest versions of Safari, Netscape, OmniWeb, Firefox.
We do not recommend Internet Explorer for Mac since Microsoft stopped supporting IE on a Mac in December 2005.

Virtual Microscope technical problems
The majority of problems encountered are browser specific, and often mitigated by switching to a different browser.

Known Issues:

Scrolling window to view each image.
Using a low screen resolution (800 x 600) or an internet browser with several menu bars reduces your onscreen viewing area. We recommend using at least 1024 x 768 resolution.

Slow download speed with fast connection, fast CPU, lots of RAM but still got delays?
Some users have found problems downloading our images using Internet Explorer 6 on a PC. Try switching to another browser, or see if any of the fixes we discovered so far will help:

If Internet Explorer is set to check for a newer version of a page at every visit, the download will be very slow as the images constantly update.

Set your browser to update stored pages automatically:

Select Tools -> Internet Options...

Under the General tab, Temporary Internet Files, click Settings...

Under check for newer versions of stored pages: select Automatically

Mozilla/javascript bug
When using a Mozilla browser you won't get an option to 'Click OK if you meant to say that there is a particle track at this location' when you click on a track, it will move on to the next focus movie.