Anyone who has purchased software or hardware for their computer has seen a systems requirement section. This relatively small square of information lets the user know whether the product will be a safe buy or not. Not only does system requirements alert the user to the right choice, but it can also aid the consumer with their buying decisions. One of the biggest ways system requirements help the business world is in new equipment acquisitions and upgrades.

System requirements can be found on the side or back of software boxes. They usually state the operating system type, amount of memory and hard drive space, as well as processor speed, and multimedia standards. If the software is to be used with special peripherals such as MIDI keyboards or Koala pads, it is also specified in the requirement’s section. For hardware, the box will tell the user what type of hardware or computer is needed for the item to work. It will list software requirements for its drivers if any.

Understanding system requirements can be tricky. Not only do you have to know what your computer set is, you need to know what configurations are younger or older than your system. In the case with newer models, you need to know whether your machine will handle older commands. If your system is old, you’ll need to know how much of the new stuff is still compatible to use.

Ensuring that your system can handle future improvements is an exercise in understanding system requirements. As a store manager, I always suggested that consumers look at the current applications on the market. Also, it’s helpful to see new items that are coming soon. Once you see what is available, and what will soon be available, you can make a chart of the system requirements. If most of your applications require a 166 MHz PowerPC 603e chip, then you know the minimum machine you can buy is a Macintosh G3. To make sure your are ready for the future, you should buy the fastest Power Mac on the market. That will make it easier to upgrade.

In the business world, when choosing network layouts, software and hardware purchases. You need to pay more attention to the proposed growth of the company. Once you understand how your company should grow, you can determine how many levels higher than the minimum requirement you need. If you are dealing with Microsoft software, twice the listed requirements in each section is recommended for optimal use.

At NASA, the astronauts take laptops in space. They use them to send e-mail, write reports, practice procedures, vote, entertain, and learn while in space. Several years ago, a decision was made to use the IBM ThinkPad as the official astronaut laptop. Once NASA began purchasing this equipment, software developers and project manager were giving the daunting task of compatibility. As new training tools and procedural adjustments are made, develops must test the new technology on the older machines. Currently GHG is producing an inventory management system to use on the International Space Station. The team was given a list of hardware specifications, and asked to develop a system that would work. The team at GHG could not use the latest HTML specifications or browsers for this task. This made it difficult to meet the software functionality layout. If the team at GHG did not understand the importance of system requirements, the entire system would be in jeopardy of system crashes and corrupted data. Although it is difficult for developers, the tools are readily available for them to use. NASA’s understanding of system requirements allowed them to purchase the top of the line. This has enabled them to use the same systems today, and they will be able to use them into the new millenium.

I used my 5 years experience as a software store manager, as well as the knowledge of NASA develops.