MICE Java Applet

Background

The MICE software available through this site is a java applet and as such it doesn't in principle require any installation work. However, the applet is dependent on certain browser and software environment features, which typically are not readily available and therefore the first time it is used it may require the user's assistance in downloading and installing those components. The process is automatic, and typically it can be completed without the user having to change any of the default settings suggested by the process.

Before going through a more detailed presentation of what the user may expect when running MICE for the first time, we should mention that even though MICE is written in Java and should therefore run on any platform, due to the limited availability and/or functionality of the java plugin and Java3D extension, at this moment we only support the usage of the MICE applet on Windows machines only.

Also, as an applet, MICE is subject to the security restrictions of the java runtime environment which normally would restrict its access to user's machine resources. Since full functionality of the MICE applet requires capabilities that transcend the default security policy, we adopted the solution of deploying the software as a signed applet. The result is that the user will be prompted at the beginning to give additional privileges to the program.

First time use

The following components are required by MICE and you will be prompted to allow their download during the installation. The experience may be slightly different depending on whether you are using Netscape Communicator or Microsoft Internet Explorer.

  1. Java Plug-in: If it is not installed on your system, a message in the browser's window would ask you to click to get it downloaded. The file you download contains the installer for JRE 2 environment and the corresponding version of the java plug-in. Follow the appropriate instructions. Once downloaded, depending on your computer's configuration and browser you might or might not have to double click on the installer to have the package installed. You also might have to close and restart the browser or just click again on the message window in order to continue with the process.

  2. Java3D extension: If not installed, you will see a Java Plug-in Security Warning saying "The applet requires the installation of javax.media.j3d from http://mice.sdsc.edu/runtime/current/applet/java3d.jar" and three options: Grant this session, Deny, Grant always. Choose "Grant this session". For obscure reasons "Grant always" will not work. Any way, you won't have to download Java3D again in the future unless a newer version is needed. The package will be downloaded and the installation will start automatically. You will be guided through the process by message windows where you can see the settings that are suggested by default. These are sensible choices and accepting them should be a good idea.
Once the above components are installed on your computer, you should see another Java Plug-in Security Warning asking permission to install and run our signed applet. If you want to avoid seeing this window in the future you should choose "Grant always". More Info about signer is also available for you. Once this final step is completed, you should see the MICE splash screen appear, followed closely by the application window.

Further help about usage can be found at the MICE webpage.