Technical Information

Browser Compatibility and Accessibility Issues SID has been designed to be compatible with Windows Internet Explorer Version 6+ and Mozilla Firefox 1.5+ and has been tested using these browsers. There are some variations in the way SID responds depending upon the browser in question but not so much as to have a significant impact on functionality. An alternative black on white Text Only version of this website has been provided (see Alt/F + Enter logo at top of pages) This black on white Text Only version is suitable for ... Web users who are using web browser technology that predates Windows Internet Explorer Version 6+ and Mozilla Firefox 1.5+ Web users who switch off image display. Web users who have disabled user initiated popup windows. Web users who disable client scripting facilities (eg: JavaScript). Web users who do not have or prefer to avoid pointing devices (eg: Mouse). Web users who require a service that is fully compliant with W3C Accessibility Guidelines. Internet Connection Speed - Dial Up versus Broadband There are basically two types of Internet service that you might have: Dial Up and Broadband and the difference between the two is one of speed. Whatever you do on the Internet it involves transferring electronic data from a computer somewhere on the Internet to your own PC so that you can see it on your screen. If the thing you want to look at is a simple web page then the amount of electronic data that needs to be transferred can be small. For things like videos, online games and complicated graphics (Google Maps, for instance) then the amount of electronic data that needs to be transferred, and usually in real time, can be very large indeed. Dial Up connections will give you a line speed up to 56Kb which is the slowest Internet connection speed available. Broadband can give you line speeds of anything between 0.5Mb and 16 Mb which is very fast by comparison to Dial Up. Whilst SID 's Search facilities will give acceptable performance with either Dial Up or Broadband connections some of the resources accessible through SID require a Broadband internet connection in order to achieve an acceptable level of performance. These are Games, Video and all resources that use Google's Global Mapping Service. (eg: Maps, What's On (Broadband), Find What You Want). However, taking account of this we have provided some options, the What's On? and Find What You Want, in two variations - WITH Google support for Broadband and WITHOUT Google support for Dialup/Modem users on the Home page. The WITHOUT options are the simplest and are recommended for speedy response if you do not have a Broadband Internet connection. The Games and Video options, realistically, require a Broadband connection.