Technical Requirements
This document describes the technical requirements for accessing the various Ideas International (IDEAS) Internet sites. These sites include the IDEAS public web sites (referred to as Public sites below) and the IDEAS online subscription web sites including Competitive Profiles, Server CAR and IDEAS Advantage (referred to as Subscription sites below).
Recommended Browsers and Versions
The Public sites and the Subscription sites require the use of a current web browser. Some older browsers may cause problems when viewing pages. IDEAS recommends the following browsers to access our Internet sites:
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 or later
- Mozilla Firefox 3 or later
- Apple Safari 3 or later
- Opera 10 or later
- Google Chrome 4 or later
Javascript and Cookies
Javascript and cookies must be enabled for the Subscription sites to function correctly. Web browsers use Javascript to make web pages more interactive. Cookies are small files that the IDEAS web sites and other web sites store on your computer.
If you are having problems with the operation of a Subscription site, or if you are unable to register or re-authorize to our system, please check your browser settings to ensure that Javascript and cookies are enabled.
The Subscription sites remember who you are by placing a cookie onto your PC. If you delete your cookies or change PCs, you will need to re-authorize against our system. If you have a third-party cookie cleanup utility, please ensure that the relevant domain (e.g. as.ideascp.com, www.ideasadvantage.com etc) is set as a trusted website so that the IDEAS cookies are not deleted.
Additional Software Requirements
Various functions in the Subscription sites allow export of data for use in a spreadsheet application. These exports are in Microsoft Excel 2000 format (BIFF8), which is supported by current versions of most spreadsheet applications.
Some functions in the Subscription sites generate PDF documents. To view these documents, you will need software that supports the PDF document format. For the best browser-integrated experience, we recommend using Acrobat Reader 8 or later.
Screen Resolution
For an optimal experience, IDEAS recommends that your screen resolution be set at 1280x800 or higher. A screen resolution of 1024x768 is the minimum requirement for the Subscription sites.
E-mail Address
An e-mail address is required in order to register for access to the Subscription sites. To receive various IDEAS email feed services (such as Alert and Bulletin services) your e-mail client needs to support attachments.
Internet Connection
When using the Subscription sites, IDEAS recommends that you use a broadband connection (e.g. Cable, DSL, T1). The Subscription sites may be used over a dial-up connection, however page display speed will be slow.
Availability
The various IDEAS websites are typically available 24x7x365, but they are subject to scheduled and unscheduled downtime from time to time.
Notification of scheduled downtime for the Subscription sites will be provided at least one week in advance via a banner on the home page or in the page headings. IDEAS will use reasonable efforts to ensure that scheduled maintenance will not exceed three hours per calendar month.
Support
If you have followed all the recommendations outlined in this document yet continue to experience technical difficulties, please contact 
for assistance.
Last Revised: Nov-2010