System Requirements
Web Management (My Account)
Voices/Sounds
Application/Desktop Sharing (Dynamic Multi-Way)
Moderation
Whiteboard
Firewall
Q:
What are the minimum system requirements to run AccuLive
Commander client software?
A:
- Windows
2000/XP/2003/Vista, Mac OS X (Intel/Power PC), Linux (x86) for Students/Users,
Windows XP/Vista for Tutors
- Intel
Pentium 4 1.4GHz Processor, Power PC G4 with 256MB
of RAM (512MB or more is recommended)
- Microsoft
IE 7.0 or newer
- Sun Java 2 Run-time
Environment (J2RE)
- Full-Duplex
sound card
- Microphone
(for voice chat, not required for only listening, a
headset is recommended for better audio quality)
- WDM
compatible video capture device (USB Digital Web Camera,
for video, not required for only viewing)
- Microsoft
DirectX
9 or later (required for sending
webcam video and application sharing)
- Windows
2003 Server must start audio service
Q:
Does AccuLive Commander support 56K dial-up connection?
A: Our
voice module uses high compression algorithm to reduce
the bandwidth requirement. The voice can be delivered
via a 33.6kbps modem and enjoy better-than-phone quality
of voice. However, we would recommend using DSL/Cable
Internet connection for better streaming voice and faster
data download.
Q:
Can I use Fire Fox or Netscape to manage
my account?
A:
We utilize Microsoft's ActiveX
technology for the web development. If you are using instructor's
account, you will require to install a small piece of
software code for your browser - ActiveX Control. For
example, when you sign in your web account, you will see
a link for "Signing In" to the online classroom.
This is done by the ActiveX technology. It is supported
by the Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 and above. Fire
Fox and Netscape do not support ActiveX properly. We strongly
recommend using Microsoft IE for instructors.
Q:
Why do I need to disable
"Pop-Up Blocker" or allow pop-up windows from
www.acculive.com?
A:
When you enter the My Account
area, you can request a tutor, check your payment history,
or even schedule a live session with a specific tutor.
All tasks can be done on our website in a few keystrokes.
However, our web programs need to submit your request
to server for further process. We utilize Javascript for
data submission. Java Script will generate useful notification
on the screen - a pop-up window. If you disable the Pop-Up
window, your request will not be processed correctly.
We do not
sell banners or no commercial pop-up ads on our site!
Please feel safe to disable "Pop-Up Blocker"
or allow pop-up windows from www.acculive.com.
Q:
What is VOIP?
A: VoIP
stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol.
As the term indicates, VoIP allows the voice to go through
the Internet via electronic voice packets. VoIP can use
accelerating hardware to achieve this purpose and can
also be used in a PC environment.
Q:
What is full duplex voice communication?
A:
A
full-duplex device is just like a regular phone.
You can talk and listen at the same time. A half-duplex
device just like a portable radio walkie-talkie; as long
as you hold down the "Talk" button, you can't
hear anybody else who is trying to talk to you--that's
why radio users say "Over" at the end of a transmission--so
the other person knows you've finished and they can begin
speaking. Users can communicate in both directions but
only one person can speak at a time. A Simplex device
is even less sophisticated than half-duplex; it is like
a radio broadcast station. You can't respond to its transmissions
at all.
Q:
How to use hands-Free and Push-to-talk?
A:
AccuLive
Commander supports both Hands-Free (full duplex) and Push-to-Talk
(half duplex) mode. If there are less than 4 users in
the room (an instructor and 3 students), the instructor
can select either mode for voice communication. However,
if there are more than 4 people in the room, the system
will automatically switch to Push-to-Talk mode to ensure
the quality of audio stream.
Q:
Can the voice packets be sent behind a firewall?
A:
Yes.
Our voice packets are delivered via UDP and can travel
through a firewall smoothly without changing default settings.
Should you close most ports of your firewall, please open
certain ports and allow outgoing UDP to our server. For
more technical assistance, please contact our Tech
Support.
Q:
How much bandwidth is used for voice?
A: Voice
streams use only about 16-24kbps of the bandwidth.
Q:
How do I switch audio from my external speakers and microphone
to a headset?
A:
We recommend using a headset
to ensure the great quality of audio. A headset will elliminate
the voice looped back (echo) to sender. To switch your
audio device, please go to "Start" => "Settings"
=> "Control Panel"; double click the "Sound
and Audio Devices"; Select the "Audio"
tab; Select your preferred device. If you headset is USB
based, make sure to select the right one. If your headset
is the regular model (with 2 3.5mm plugs), please make
sure to plug-in the Pink/Red one to the MIC port of your
sound card. The Green/Black one to the OUT port of your
sound card.
When you
are done, go to "Programs" => "Accessories"
=> "Entertainment" and select Sound Recorder
to test your Microphone/speakers or headset.
Q:
What is Application Sharing?
A:
The
most powerful feature of AccuLive Commander is the Application
Sharing. This allows anyone in the classroom to share
PC applications with other students during a live session.
It is ideal for displaying homework problems or allowing
multiple people to view a document together. For example,
you will be able to collaborate effectively by editing
a file with other students and seeing the changes being
made in real-time. The owner of the application sharing
has the possibility to give the control to any student
in the room, letting him/her remotely modify the document
opened on his/her machine. The other attendee doesn't
need to have the application installed to be able to use
it.
Q:
What's the difference between local application sharing
and multi-way application sharing?
A:
Normally,
the moderator or the tutor will initiate the application
sharing. If the moderator/tutor shares his/her application
with remote users, it's called ‘local application sharing.’
The moderator/tutor also can pass the ownership of application
sharing to any one in the room and let him/her to share
his/her applications to all students. It's a permission-
based operation. Only when the remote user agrees to accept
the delegation will the application share be started.
This is what we called "Multi-way application sharing."
Q:
Why does my screen appear some scrabbled black blocks?
A:
It
is caused by your video card driver and it is not 100%
compatible with Microsoft DirectX 8.1 or later. Please
contact the video manufacturer to get the latest version
of video driver.
Q:
Why is the voice communication delayed when I am receiving
application sharing data?
A:
AccuLive
Commander delivers both voice and data at the same time.
However, the data stream takes more bandwidth than voice
stream. Thus, if you don't have enough bandwidth for upstream,
some delay may occur. We are working on a new feature
to limit the data stream when the tutor is launching application
sharing. Please check our site for more updated information.
Q:
Why do I need to set the classroom as "Listen Only"?
A: If
you are planning to launch a seminar or speech and don't
want students to interrupt your live session, you can
set the room as "Listen Only." All the students
members in the room will not be able to use the voice
communication. It's just like using "Mute" on
the users' microphone.
Q:
How many instructors are allowed in a classroom?
A:
There is no limitation
on the number of instructors in a room. However, it's
not a good idea to allow all users to have instructor
previledges while the event is in session.
Q:
Can I save the illustrations on the whiteboard?
A:
Yes.
All pictures, lines, shapes, and texts on the whiteboard
can be saved as a single image file in GIF format.
Why
do I get greyscale images after saving the whiteboard?
A:
If
your video Color Quality is set at over 24 bit (16 million
colors), the image will be saved as grey scale due to
java image support problem. However, if you switch setting
to 24 bit, 16 bit, or even 256 color, the GIF image files
you saved will be 256 color.
Can
I use my PowerPoint slides with the whiteboard?
A:
Yes.
Our software supports converting PowerPoint slides (static images,
no animations) on client's PC and uploads to whiteboard. If you need to share your animated
PPT/PPS files, please use Application Share to share the screen.
Note: If you use Application Share to display your
PPT/PPS with animations, it will take more bandwidth on
user ends.
You
MUST have Microsoft PowerPoint (or Office) 2000 or newer
version installed on your machine. Click on the "Import
PowerPoint" icon from your whiteboard tools area.
Once you locate the PPT/PPS file, the whiteboard will
convert to appropriate format and display the first slide
for preview on the screen. If you decide to use this file,
click "Open" to import entire PPT/PPS file to
whiteboard. Our software will automatically create new
pages to display all slides. Once you import the PPT/PPS
file, you can save the entire slide sets to your whiteboard
slides list for future use.
How
do I adjust the size of slides after I import slides from
PowerPoint 2003/2007 (Office 2003/2007?)
A:
Microsoft
PowerPoint (after 2003 version) changes the default size of exported images.
In order to adjust the size of slides and fit in WhiteBoard,
the perfect size is 720x540. You can download PPT
Registry Tool and our program will reset the default
value for you.
Q:
Is the AccuLive Commander software compatible with firewall/proxy
(NAT firendly)?
A:
Yes. Our software has been tested
with hardware based router/firewall such as Linksys, Netgear,
Netscreen, FortiNet, ..etc. and software based anti-virus/firewall
such as Notron, Zone Alarm, Trend Micro,...etc. By default,
the software is NAT friendly and working with your firewall/proxy
server as long as you do not block TCP/UDP traffic to
our servers.
What
protocols are used in AccuLive Commander?
A:
By
default, AccuLive Commander sends voice packet in User
Datagram Protocol (UDP). If the UDP is not allowed in
your network, our system will switch to TCP for sending
voice packets.
When
I tried to sign in online classroom, why didn't I see
any other people in the classroom?
A:
You
are not connected to the AccuLive Server. Your firewall
blocks outgoin traffic to port 2116-2118 (TCP) at our
server. Please talk to your network administrator. Our
firewall friendly version of AccuLive Commnader sends
voice packets via port 80/443. Please contact our Tech
Support for more detailed information.
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