ACORNS is freely downloadable under the standard GNU General Public Open Source license agreement. For details, refer to http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.txt. The author, Dan Harvey, retains full copyright privileges to this software. By downloading this software, you agree to abide by its terms. Please contact Dan Harvey at harveyd@sou.edu if you have questions or comments.

Installation

There are two ways to download and install the ACORNS program.

1) You can download a compressed folder containing:

• Sample lessons with web pages
• The ACORNS manual
• WebPlayer.jar (the file that allows you to create and execute web pages)
• Executable applications
• A readme containing further instructions

To download, just click the appropriate distribution link from the table above.

2) You can use Web Start Installation. Web Start is a program that will install itself on your computer. All you'll need to do is click OK to one or two questions. The second time you use the program, Web Start will ask if you want to create a desktop icon for your system. Answering "yes" will save you from having to run the program from the Web Start application every time, or from the web.

Use this approach if you're looking for a simpler installation process. However, depending on your security settings, your system may put up barriers for web-based installs such as this one. You'll know that's the case if the process doesn't work as described.

To download, simply click one of the Web Start installation links from the table above.

System Requirements

Version 3.1 of ACORNS requires Java Version 1.5 to execute. Java is freely downloadable from Sun Corporations (for Windows systems) or Apple Corporations (for Macs). (Links are provided below.) But chances are, you already have Java installed, as most systems do. If so, you can download ACORNS just by clicking one of the links from the table shown above. If you're not sure, give it a try anyway and see if it works. If the installation fails, install Java using the instructions below, then try again.

Mac users only: Note that Mac systems older than 10.4 do not support the latest version of Java. Since ACORNS Version 3.1 requires Java Version 1.5, you will need to upgrade your Operating System if you have one of these older systems.

Installing Java

Mac Systems: Java Mac downloads are available from http://developer.apple.com/java/download/.

Windows and Unix Systems: Java Windows and Unix downloads are available from http://java.sun.com/downloads.

Choose the latest Java version using the latest download Java Development Kit (JDK) link, shown on the right of the page. After you click the appropriate link, another page of links will display. Pick the link pointing to the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) and follow the installation instructions.