Below are the latest changes to the minimum specification for running the onscreen test issued this week. I am not aware of any schools that will not meet these, but I would look very carefully at the server spec.
Dear KS3 ICT test school,
Following the 2006 pilot of the KS3 ICT tests, a small number of changes have been made to the minimum specification required to run the KS3 ICT test software. Please find details below. If you have any questions about the information provided please do not hesitate to contact the technical support team via Support Online accessed from www.naa.org.uk/ks3ictpilot <http://www.ks3ictpilot.com/> or by telephone: 0870 870 1025 and option 2.
Screen Resolution: The minimum workstation specification strongly recommends a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 for the best pupil experience. Please note that from 2008 the KS3 ICT software will not support 800 x 600 screen resolutions.
Windows 98 Workstations: Windows 98 workstations will not be supported during the 2007 pilot. Microsoft has retired public and technical support so this is no longer a suitable platform for running the KS3 ICT test.
Windows XP Service Pack 1: Workstations running Windows XP Service Pack 1 will not be supported during the 2007 pilot. On 10 October 2006 Microsoft stopped providing any incident support options or security updates for this retired service pack. Therefore it is no longer a suitable platform for running the KS3 ICT test.
The upgrade to Windows SP Service Pack 2 is freely available from the Microsoft website to all licensed users of Windows XP. Please talk to your usual network support provider for instructions on how to upgrade your network to this service pack.
Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 and earlier: Servers and workstations running Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 and earlier will not be supported during the 2007 pilot. Provision of technical support and security updates for Windows 2000 versions prior to Service Pack 4 ended on 30 June 2005. Therefore it is no longer a suitable platform for running the KS3 ICT test.
The upgrade to Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 is freely available from the Microsoft website to all licensed users of Windows 2000. Please talk to your usual network support provider for instructions on how to upgrade your network to this service pack.
64-bit Windows: Windows Server 2003 x64 edition will not be supported. On 64-bit server hardware, you can choose to run either the 32-bit or 64-bit versions of Windows Server 2003. 32-bit Windows is intended for general purpose use and compatibility with existing 32-bit applications. 64-bit Windows is a version of Windows Server 2003 that has specifically been recompiled such that it will only run on 64-bit hardware and uses full 64-bit addressing. The KS3 ICT APS server software is a 32-bit application and, as such, has not been verified as compatible with 64-bit Windows server. Please contact your usual network support provider for advice on running the 32-bit version of Windows Server 2003.
We are actively verifying compatibility with 64-bit versions of Windows 2003 server, with a view to providing further information on this after January 2007.
Windows Vista: Windows Vista workstations will not be supported. The KS3 ICT test software for 2007 is not compatible with Windows Vista and must not be run on Windows Vista workstations.
Internet Explorer 5.5: Internet Explorer 5.5 will not be supported. Provision of technical support and security updates for Internet Explorer 5.5 on the Windows 2000 platform ended on 31t December 2003. Therefore it is no longer a suitable platform for running the KS3 ICT test.
The upgrade to Internet Explorer 6 is freely available from the Microsoft website to all licensed users of Windows 2000.
Netscape 7.2 and Earlier: Netscape 7.2 and earlier will not be supported. The latest version of the browser (version 
is available only for the Windows XP platform. Earlier versions are no longer supported and no further security updates will be issued. Therefore it is no longer a suitable platform for workstations running the KS3 ICT test. In place of Netscape, Mozilla Firefox 1.5+ will now be supported on all workstation and server platforms.
Internet Explorer 7: Internet Explorer 7 will be supported. Please note that Microsoft distributed several different pre-release, beta, and release candidate versions of Internet Explorer 7. These pre-release versions all have compatibility and security issues which have been fixed in the final release version of Internet Explorer 7. Consequently, the KS3 ICT test must not be run on workstations that still have pre-release, beta, or release candidate version of Internet Explorer 7 installed.
If you require any further information or assistance then please do not hesitate to contact us.
With regards,
KS3 ICT Tests Customer Services Team
Tel. 0870 8701025
Fax. 01235 854391
ks3tests@rm.com
www.naa.org.uk/ks3ictpilot
