System Requirements

LangLab PASSPORT is written in Java. It's a cross-platform application that runs on PCs using Windows, Macs using OS X, and under Unix, Novell, etc.

Computers students and faculty use get files from another computer - a server - and put new files on it. The server can be the same computer teachers use to monitor a class, but it can also be a different one. A teacher using the Monitor module on one kind of computer can monitor and talk with a student using the Client module on another kind of computer.

Here is what you need to run LangLab PASSPORT

:
  • CPU: a PC with at least a Pentium III/700MHz CPU inside or a Mac that is at least a G4; i.e., any computer except the most Neolithic machines
  • RAM memory: RAM 256 MB.
    LangLab PASSPORT actually can be used with only 128 MB of RAM, but other applications running need RAM, too. How much RAM LangLab PASSPORT requires depends on how long sound clips are. Currently it's configured to let sound clips run up to 10 minutes. Since it holds clips in memory, when a LangLab PASSPORT module is brought up, it instructs Java to grab 128 MB. Because other applications may also require RAM, 256 MB of RAM is a normal system requirement. If you set the maximum length of sound clips at under ten minutes, it may be possible to use LangLab PASSPORT successfully on computers with less memory. A key point to remember is that the memory requirement depends on which other programs a computer is running at the same time. Regardless of how much RAM is installed, the computer should not be running other services that result in much less than 128 MB being available for LangLab PASSPORT. Otherwise, frequent paging may result in performance problems such as scratchy sound.
  • Screen display: 1024x768 recommended
  • Sound card: Full-duplex sound card on which Javasound will run. Virtually any modern computer has one. Strongly recommended for Windows users is a sound card that lets the stereo mixer be turned on or off in a sound control panel, since for some instructional purposes it should be on and for others off. This feature seems not to exist with OS X, although it may be possible to achieve mixer control to combine whatever the sound card is playing with microphone input as the input source for a LangLab PASSPORT recording by using third-party mixer software.
  • An OS that can run a fully-functional version of the Java Run-time Environment: Windows 2000 and XP, Apple OS X from 10.2.6 on, Unix, Novell, etc.
    On the Mac, the current 2.2 release of LangLab PASSPORT requires at least Apple Java 1.4.2, for which the OS requirement is OS X 10.3.4 or later. Java 1.5 is better than 1.4.2 at handling Asian characters, and can display together languages such as Arabic and Chinese, an ability lacking in Java 1.4.2. Java 1.5 is not compatible with versions of OS X earlier than 10.4, however.
  • The Java Run-time Environment just mentioned: for Windows, Java 1.5 (also known as the JRE 5.0) or later, and for the Mac, Apple Java 1.4.2 or later. (See the preceding note regarding display of Asian characters with Apple Java.)
    Java 1.6 (JRE 6.0) has not been properly tested for compatibility yet--don't use it until we tell you it's safe to do so.
    Mac users: please note that Apple's Java 1.5 release requires Tiger (10.4) or later and is not compatible with earlier versions of OS X.

    Here is how to download it if you don't already have it:
    • Windows users: go to the page http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/download.jsp, read down to the JRE 5.0 Update 12 that "allows end-users to run Java applications," and click on the link just below to download it (after accepting the license agreement). With time this page may change as updates after 5.0 (or 1.5) become available, but the main j2se page should always have links to the current version.
    • Mac OS X users: you can find out which version of the JRE is installed by opening a terminal window (Applications->Utilities->Terminal) and typing java -version. Java 1.5 is currently available from this Apple Web page. Java 1.4.2 Update 2 is currently still available from this Apple Web page. These links may become outdated, but Java versions can be found by entering "Java" as a search term in the search field of Apple's main page.
    If Let'sT@lk is used on a Mac that has Java 1.4.2 rather than 1.5, small panels being used will not stay on top of main panels as one moves back and forth, but clicking on them brings them to the top again.
  • A headset and microphone (preferably part of the headset) for individual work; a stand-alone microphone may occasionally be useful when pairs or groups of students are asked to record, sitting together by one computer and passing the microphone back and forth, though Let'sT@lk is a superior tool for this purpose.
  • So that it's possible to use MP3 files on a Mac, the LangLab PASSPORT installer includes the LAME MP3 encoder. The encoder installation package includes the source code for the encoder and the text of the GNU Lesser General Public License, as required by the terms of that license granted by the Free Software Foundation.

    • That's it for a single user trying out the demo version. Here are two additional requirements for real use on a network:

  • Networking: 100 Mb backbone/10 Mb to stations minimal (100 Mb to stations recommended)
  • For a client-server installation, server capability for SFTP, FTP, or the SMB protocol. (SMB is used by default with Microsoft Windows, and is used by the SAMBA open-source utility running on Mac OS X, Unix, Linux, and Netware machines.) Any operating system capable of acting as a server normally has SFTP and FTP capability included. When a Mac is used as a server, it is a good idea to have even client machines in the lab communicate with it by SFTP, to avoid problems of inadvertent deletion of critical files that might arise if the client machines have to mount the server volume and permissions are not managed with sufficient care.
    For remote use, E-LangLab strongly recommends use of SFTP, which provides greater security than SMB or FTP and does not require managing a VPN (virtual private network). Client-side SFTP capability is already incorporated into LangLab PASSPORT modules.

Sound File Formats

Either .wav or .mp3 format (monitoring uses one format at a time). You can capture sound in either of these formats from audio files of many other types that you play in a media player.