To determine if your system is capable of playing back an IBM podcast presentation, there are two main areas that should be examined:
Computer system requirements
There are minimum computer system requirements for playing back an IBM podcast. If these basic requirements are not met, difficulties viewing or listening to a podcast may be encountered.
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating system* | Windows 98 second edition | Windows 2000 or XP |
| CPU | 266MHz Pentium class processor or equivalent | 1GHz processor |
| RAM | 64 MB | 512 MB |
| Network connection | 28 Kbps Modem | Broadband (DSL, Cable modem, LAN/WAN connection, etc.) |
| Sound card | 16 bit sound card with speakers or headphones | 16 bit sound card with speakers or headphones |
| Hard Disk | 50 MB available disk space | 500 MB or more available disk space |
* Note: many Mac and Linux operating system distributions are capable of playing IBM podcast presentations using supported browsers and podcatchers, but the system requirements for those systems are not explicitly supported by the IBM podcast site.
Software requirements
Although IBM Podcasts can be downloaded directly using a compatible browser, if you want to take advantage of the subscription features of podcasting, it is recommended that you download a "podcatcher" application such as iTunes or Juice.
| Required | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Web Browser | Internet Explorer 5.0 or Firefox 1.0 | Internet Explorer 6.0 or Firefox 2.0 |
| Suggested | Minimum | Recommended |
| Podcatcher | iTunes 7.1, Juice 2.1 | iTunes 8.1, Juice 2.1 |
| Additional software | Adobe Reader 6.0, Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer | Adobe Reader 8.0, Microsoft PowerPoint |