Successful SoftwareHardware Combinations

Successful Software/Hardware Combinations

The first question is: Does your hardware and software have what it takes? The answer depends on whether you're talking about the Flash authoring software or the Flash Player.

Authoring Software

If you're working on a Macintosh or Windows machine, you should be all set to run the Flash 5 authoring software. Table 26.1 lists the platforms and minimum system requirements for authoring Flash 5 content.

Table 26.1. Minimum System Requirements for Authoring Flash

	Windows	Macintosh
System Software	133MHz Intel Pentium Processor Microsoft Windows 95, 98, Me, NT4, 2000 Professional, or later	System 8.1 or later
Available RAM	32MB	32MB
Available Disk Space	40MB	40MB
Resolution	800x600; 256- color	800x600; 256-color

A larger spectrum of browsers support the Flash 5 player.

Browser Player Software

The Flash 5 Player is supported by the OS/browser combinations shown in Table 26.2.

Table 26.2. Browsers, by Platform,That Support the Flash 5 Player

Windows	Macintosh	Linux	Solaris
System: 95, 98, Me, NT, 2000 Professional, or later	System: 8.1 or later	System: Red Hat 6.0 or later (Pentium only)	System: Solaris 2.5 or 2.6 (SPARC only, 24-bit color) (Pentium only)
Browser: Netscape 3 or later Internet Explorer 3 or later Flash Player Java Edition requires Java-enabled browser	Browser: Netscape 3 or later Internet Explorer 3 or later Flash Player Java Edition requires Java-enabled browser	Browser: Netscape 4 or later	Browser: Netscape 3 or later

Even if you have the latest release of your browser software and Flash, some older operating systems don't support the newer features of Flash 5, such as these:

• Script-based player detection

• The loadMovie() function

• The capability to use javascript: in the getURL() function

• Flash/JavaScript communication

See TechNote 14159 on Macromedia's Web site for the most up-to-date browser support matrix.

After you've resolved your own browser/player issues, you need to be able to detect whether your user has the Flash 5 Player.