Vibrant MCSE BOOT Camp Notes :
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Client Hardware

As an intranet developer, your biggest task is to make sure your user group has adequate machines. Many users might connect from home, and it's likely they'll have good machines. Of course, if your users are connecting from home, they will need a modem. I wouldn't suggest anything slower than a 28.8Kbps for surfing Web sites. If the user just needs to connect with the mail server, a 14.4 should do. At this time, 28.8 is the fastest available.

However, don't worry about the home users so much; it's the users who have ancient corporate LANs you should think about. For example, it's not uncommon to find 386 DOS-based computers without color monitors on the desktops in many corporate LAN environments. Obviously, there is no longer a whole lot these poor users can accomplish with this antiquated technology. The basic minimum needed for an intranet client is a 486 with a color monitor and 8MB of RAM, and this is bare bones. If you plan to do audio- or video-conferencing or use Java, your users will need a fast 486 or a Pentium with at least 16MB of RAM. If you plan to incorporate even basic audio- and video-conferencing, you must consider sound cards, microphones, speakers, and cameras. These peripherals are not cheap. You can expect to pay for a sound card and speakers about what you'd pay for a decent home-stereo system. If you plan to use a microphone for audio-conferencing, don't waste $10 on a cheap one; spend a few more dollars and buy a decent one.

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