Last week I shared some tips to help folks using SmartMusic at home breeze through installation and activation. In the school network world, it becomes a bit more complicated due to different schools’ rules and state laws, so I’ll share some specific info for school users today. If you’re using SmartMusic at home, or are not the person who installs software at your school, don’t be concerned by the following technical language: There will not be a test.

There are many different kinds of network setups, so we have prepared a fairly exhaustive list of technical specifications. We revise our knowledge base articles whenever SmartMusic or the websites are updated, so it’s the most detailed list you can find to help your network staff.

Here are some ‘executive level’ points:

1. SmartMusic has to be installed on the machine that will run it; it cannot be run from a remote or network location.
2. Install and activate as the Administrator account; limited users can use it afterwards. They will need to be able to write temporary files in the Documents and Settings directories, however.
3. Whitelists: SmartMusic relies on unfettered Internet access to a small number of websites. Add “smartmusic.exe” (or “smartmusic.app” for Macs) to your list of approved programs for network access. SmartMusic requires access only to these websites (normal ports):

   a. smartmusic-com.go-vip.net/
   b. components.smartmusic.com
   c. ws.makemusic.com
   d. redirect.makemusic.com

4. System requirements: Compare the specs of the computers you plan to use against the SmartMusic system requirements.While lower-end budget computers work great for word processing and math tutorial software, they tend to fare poorly when presented with a professional-level audio program. Pay special attention to sufficient RAM, and know that investing in a sound card will pay off quite a bit.

Now I know I said there wouldn’t be a test, but I do have a short quiz: Desktops, notebooks, netbooks, laptops, and cheese sandwiches – which of these isn’t a real computer?

I’m tempted to say netbooks, as they often have very underpowered CPUs, but the real answer is the cheese sandwich. Netbooks are a close second, however: If your district is contemplating buying a bunch of these, definitely download SmartMusic onto one first and try recording with the “sample” files.

With that, the time has come for one cheese sandwich to meet its maker.

Best wishes!