• 486-based PC or 040-based Macintosh
• 16 megabytes of RAM
• 30 megabytes of available hard disk space
• Windows 3.1 or Macintosh System 7.5
• 14.4 baud modem
• phone line (the computer can share your regular phone line, but no one can use the phone while you are connected to the Internet)

Recommended Machine
If you are purchasing a new machine, we suggest the following to connect:

• Pentium Pentium II, 300 megahertz processor or faster
• 32 megabytes of RAM
• 2.5 gigabyte hard drive
• Windows 98 or NT Workstation 4.0
• 33.6K or 56.6K baud modem (note: Most Metro Net Sites do not support 56.6K)
• phone line
• Sound card and speakers

Other options to consider are video cameras and microphones.

Bare Bones Machines
Any machine that has a modem and communications software that supports VT100 terminal emulation can be used to connect to the Internet with text only. You will still be able to search the library's catalog and databases as well as browse the World Wide Web. However, since most sites are geared towards graphical interfaces, you may find it difficult to decipher the information on the screen.

It is possible to configure machines for graphical access with as little as 4 megabytes RAM, 386-based PC or 030-based Macintosh, and 9600 baud modems, but the connection will be very slow.