Online Workshop

Technical Requirements

The online workshop uses streaming video to provide the recorded lecture, a conference call and individual calls for contact with the instructor, and the tutorial requires minimum hardware configurations and installed software. Responsibility for all requirements listed below falls upon the participant - we cannot provide support for installation, maintenance or operation of the required hardware or software.

Streaming Video Requirements

The streaming video uses RealPlayer, which can be downloaded for free at the Real site, www.real.com. There may be other players available as well. A high-speed connection is recommended - we have not tried the video on slower connections such as dial-up, and so cannot speak to its performance. The workshop cannot provide technical support for RealPlayer installation or troubleshooting.

Participants may wish to test their connection by playing other streaming video, for example as found here and here.

Lecture Slides

Microsoft's PowerPoint is required to view the lecture slides. It is available for purchase at numerous locations, or a viewer-only program for Windows can be downloaded for free from here.

Online Phone Conferencing

The online phone conference uses a system in which participants call a phone number given to them by the workshop organizers, and then are connected to the conference.  Participants are responsible for locating a phone which can make the (possibly) long-distance calls, and for any costs associated with the calls. No online conference or telephony programs (e.g., Skype) are used by the workshop.

Tutorial Requirements

The TCBG Workshop Tutorials require up-to-date hardware, operating systems, and software versions. Requirements by platform are provided below. Configurations that vary from the requirements may function poorly, or not at all.

Hardware Requirements

  • Windows
    • Operating System: Windows XP or 2000
    • Memory: 512 MB RAM
    • Processor: Pentium 4 2.4 Ghz CPU (or comparable)
    • Graphics card: nVidia Geforce Ti4600, or comparable
  • Mac
    • Operating System: Mac OS X 10.3 or greater
    • Memory: 512 MB RAM
    • Processor: G4 Processor
    • Graphics card: Macintosh computers often come with sufficient graphics processing power, so no additional card is necessary
  • Linux
    • Operating System: Any reliable Linux distribution released within the last two years.
    • Memory: 512 MB RAM
    • Processor: Pentium 4 2.4 Ghz CPU (or comparable)
    • Graphics card: nVidia Geforce Ti4600, or comparable
Software Requirements


VMD
For molecular modelling, the tutorials use VMD. You can download the latest version of VMD for your operating system from http://www.ks.uiuc.edu/Development/Download/download.cgi?PackageName=VMD. See the User and Installation guides for installation and usage instructions.

NAMD
For numerical simulation, the tutorials use NAMD. You can download the latest version of NAMD for your operating system from http://www.ks.uiuc.edu/Development/Download/download.cgi?PackageName=NAMD. See the NAMD User's Guide for installation and usage instructions.

Text Editor
A text editor of your choice (below are a few easy-to-use options):

Command Prompt
A command prompt, such as a terminal in UNIX, Terminal.app in Mac OS X, or the DOS command prompt (found under Accessories) in Windows.