Skip Navigation

Southern Oregon University

Distance Education

System Requirements

To ensure you can fully participate in your online course, your computer should meet the following minimum standards.

Hardware

Hardware \ Platform Apple Macintosh Microsoft Windows
Minimum Recommended Minimum Recommended
Operating System MacOS 8.6 MacOS X 10.2 Jaguar 98 SE or ME or NT4 w/SP6 2000, XP, or newer
Processor Speed/Type 300 MHz PowerPC G3 processor 800 MHz PowerPC G4 processor, or better 400 MHz Intel Pentium II processor, or equivalent 800 MHz Intel Pentium III processor, or equivalent/better
CPU Memory 64 MB of RAM 256 MB of RAM 64 MB of RAM 256 MB of RAM
Monitor Resolution 800 x 600 1024 x 768 800 x 600 1024 x 768
Internet Connection 56 kbps Dialup Modem Any high-speed connection (e.g. Cable Broadband or DSL) 56 kbps Dialup Modem Any high-speed connection (e.g. Cable Broadband or DSL)
Free Hard Disk Space 100 MB 500 MB or greater 100 MB 500 MB or greater
Audio (Sound) Card 16-bit sound card 24-bit sound card 16-bit sound card 24-bit sound card
Video Card Virtual memory turned on and allocated to at least 64 MB Virtual memory turned on and allocated to at least 128 MB 16 MB VRAM with 65,000 colors or 16-bit 64 MB VRAM with True Color (24-bit or 32-bit

Software

Your instructor may require that you are able to post and download files in particular formats. The most commonly used file formats in SOU's online courses, as well as links for dowloading the readers/players are listed below.

Adobe Acrobat Reader

Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view any PDF files. It is available as a free download. Be sure to install the program after downloading it.

Media Players

Microsoft Office Products

Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel- To create and/or edit Microsoft Office files, you will need the Microsoft Office Suite. If you do not have this already, it is available for purchase from the SOU Bookstore for an academic price.

Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack

The Compatibility Pack allows you to open, edit, and save files in Office 2007 format using Office 2000, Office XP, or Office 2003 (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint).

Microsoft Office Viewers

If you do not have Microsoft Office Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, you can download free software that will allow you to view, print, and copy documents created in these programs.

Web Browsers

We recommend you use a current web browser. You may download the latest version below.