How to get Dexter

Very soon, you will be able to download Dexter from right here with no further ado. However, at the moment, we are still beta testing the software, which means we need to be in communication with anyone using it. If you would like to try it out, please simply send an e-mail message, and we'll get you set up.

If you're too shy to send a message, you can still put yourself on our mailing list; see the News page.

In the meantime, please look around the site, and please check out the News page for the most recent information.

What do I need to use Dexter?

Here's what you need in order to use Dexter:

  • A computer running one of these operating systems:
    • Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP
    • Mac OS 10.1/10.2/10.3/10.4 (not yet sure about OS 9)
    • Linux, any version that supports Java 1.4
    • Unix, running the X-Window system
    (Note that we have not yet tested all of these, but in principle, all should work. The important criterion is that the system support Java 1.4.)
  • The Java Runtime Environment (JRE, also called the Java Virtual Machine), version 1.4.0 or greater. This comes preinstalled on almost all computers now, but if you don't have it, you can get it for free from Sun Microsystems, or Java Web Start can take care of it for you. See the installation instructions.

    If you're wondering what version of Java you have, see the Java page.

  • An occasional internet connection and a browser. Any reasonably modern browser should do; we recommend Firefox. Safari on Mac OS X is also good. You won't need to be on the internet to use Dexter, but if you're online, you can take advantage of some of the features of Java Web Start. See the installation instructions.
  • Some data, in the form of transcripts of speech or written documents. Your documents can start out in many different formats, but you will need to save them as plain text (.txt) or XML (.xml) before converting them. You will use Dexter to convert your data to DexML, a form of XML that enables all of the neat things that Dexter can do. See the instructions for the Dexter Converter.