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Platform requirementsIn order to accomplish various tasks using the Internet, it is wise to ensure that your personal computer is capable of handling the tasks required of it. It can be quite difficult to identify which computers are upto the task of accessing the Internet and finding out what tasks they can perform, such as e-mail and browsing the World Wide Web. Although PC prices are constantly dropping and offering more and more, there are still a great deal of less powerful machines being used for tasks like word processing. It is possible to install some software on these older machines so they can be used to access the Internet. Although it may not be possible to run processor intensive tasks on these older machines such as videoconferencing, they should be quite capable of running applications which handle e-mail and WWW. Listed below are some rough guidelines, as to what specification of machine is required to perform various tasks :-
Minimal specification to browse the WWW and use e-mail running on an IBM-PC compatible.
The above specification is a rough guideline, but it would be possible to run a web browser on a slightly less specified machine. An alternative would be to run a DOS based browser such as WebSpyder. Key :- Minimal specification to perform above functions and handle videoconferencing, and deliver sound and video.
This specification can handle most tasks fairly well, though it is likely to struggle with playing back MPEG movie clips. A more realistic alternative would be a Pentium 133MHz or equivalent processor. Key :- Optimal specification to perform all above functions.
This specification is ideal for most tasks, especially with the 17" monitor which allows more space on the desktop, and makes browsing more enjoyable. Key :- Deciding on what software to use on a PC, is nearly as important as choosing the machine to run the software on. This is especially important on lower specification machines, where later versions of software offer more functionality but also require more resources. Browsers tend to offer considerably more in later versions, but they also eat up hard drive space and demand faster machines to run them on. It is upto the user whether, they need to make use of newer features or are content with basic web pages.
Below are some links to various applications that are available, which may be of importance for accessing the Internet.
Email applications
WWW browsers
Messaging and Videoconferencing
Miscellaneous
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