Advanced Certificate in Powder Diffraction on the Web Technical Requirements School of Crystallography, Birkbeck College, University of London

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Technical Requirements

The Internet is a new and innovative medium for teaching. We hope it will provide the means of finding out more about the technique of powder diffraction for students who might not otherwise have an opportunity to do so. However, because of the nature of this method of teaching there are certain prerequisites.

The minimum equipment/know-how required to take the course will be:

• A well-supported modern machine (PC, UNIX or Mac) to which you will have access on a regular basis and which is capable of running graphical Web browsers that support tables and client-side clickable gifs (e.g. Netscape 3.0 (or better), Internet Explorer 3.0 (or better)).
• The equivalent of a 50MHz 486 8Mb RAM computer with 14" screen to undertake the course. As some of the course material pictures are large you will need to be able to configure the display to XVGA resolution (1024 x 768 with 256 colours) or better.
• Some access to a PC running Windows 95/98/NT. (This is a requirment for the academic year 1999/2000 which may be relaxed in future years.)
• Regular access to the Internet.
• A regular E-mail address and some familiarity with its use.
• Some familiarity with browsing the Web.
• Some familiarity with the installation of simple packages and with transferring/ downloading data.
• The ability to use a text editor (e.g. Notepad) to create documents.

We anticipate that most students will be using PCs running MS Window 95/98/NT. However, most of the course material can be browsed (and interacted with) using PCs running Linux or other UNIX computers or even Macs. However, the Department cannot guarantee an equal level of technical support for students not using PCs running MS Window 95/98/NT.

This list of requirements should act as a guide only as there are bound to be variations and combinations which are not mentioned above. If after reading the above you are still unsure about the level of your technical know-how or the equipment you will need then please contact Dr David Houldershaw (not forgetting to mention the name of the course).

If you should decide to pursue your application with the Department you will be asked to complete, along with an application form, a technical information form. It is only at this point, once we have all your details available to us, that your technical equipment/know-how will be assessed formally and we will be able to confirm your suitability to undertake the course.

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