Disclaimer: I did this on Windows2000 - there might be changes for
            other versions of Windows. Let me know if you have trouble.


Requirements:
        A laptop with a serial port, wireless ethernet,
        cdrom drive, internet access, and Windows


Contents:
1. Get Java
2. Get Robot software
3. Compiling the sample robot software
4. Problems
5. Java websites
6. Other software that I find useful



1. Get Java
        Go to http://java.sun.com/
        Click on "Downloads"
        In the section "JavaTM 2 Platform, Standard Edition (J2SETM)"
                pull down list to "J2SE 1.4.0 - All platforms" and click "Go"
        Download the "JRE" and "SDK" for "Windows (all languages, including 
	English)"
                (JRE = Java Runtime Environment   SDK = Software Develpment Kit)
        Install the two files you just downloaded (I used defaults for everything)
        Set your path so Windows can find the java compiler
                Windows 95/98 - use path command in your autoexec.bat
                        path C:\j2sdk1.4.0_01\bin;%PATH%
                Windows NT,2000,etc - use Control Panel->System->Advanced->Environment Variables
                        add this to your path variable:   C:\j2sdk1.4.0_01\bin
                        entries are separated by a ; 
        Set your classpath so java will look for classes in your current directory
                Windows 95/98 - use set command in your autoexec.bat
                        set CLASSPATH=.;%CLASSPATH%
                Windows NT,2000,etc - use Control Panel->System->Advanced->Environment Variables
                        add the current directory . to CLASSPATH
                        Mine looked like this when I was done:
                        .;"C:\Program Files\Java\j2re1.4.0_01\lib\ext\QTJava.zip"
        Verify your installation
                Open a command window (Start->run->cmd  or  Start->run->command)
                type java - should get usage information
                type javac - should get usage information
                if javac fails, type  path  and make sure C:\j2sdk1.4.0_01\bin is included
                type   set CLASSPATH   and make sure that . is included
                
2. Get Robot software
        Go to the lab cabinet and get the orange 16x62 CD (2nd shelf from the top)
        Copy the 16x62 folder to someplace convenient on your laptop
        RETURN THE CD TO ITS HOME ON THE CABINET SHELF!!!  VERY IMPORTANT!!!


3. Compiling the sample robot software
        Follow the JavaPrimer document to get your team directory set up, and copy
          the SampleBot code over to your team area.
        If you type  javac *.java  like the JavaPrimer says, you will get two errors:
          1. In RobotController.java, remove the word 'synchronized' - I don't know
             why this works on the class laptops, but doesn't work with this install.
             Removing this word will remove protection against having two instances of
             RobotController trying to talk to the robot at the same time. This is
             bad - make sure you never run two copies of your program at once.
          2. There will be an error complaining about symantic.itools.blahblah.
             This is because you don't have symantic on your machine. But, you don't
             need it. It's only used for Applet1.java, which we're not using anyway
             since we now have a main() in Robot.java. Anyway, you can either choose
             only to compile the files you need:
                  javac Robot.java RobotController.java SonarConsole.java
             or you can just blow away Applet1.java and Applet1.class and run
                  javac *.java
          3. It will complain about a depreciated API. Ignore it.
        You should now be able to type  java Robot  and get the Sample Bot! window


4. Problems
        All the problems I had involved my PATH or my CLASSPATH not being set correctly.
        Make sure these are correct (see step 1) first.
        You can email me if you're still stuck, but I warn you that I'm a Linux guy so
        I may not be the most help.



5. Java websites


Java documentation
http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4/docs/index.html


Java Developer Connection (free registration) - news, user forums, etc.
http://java.sun.com/jdc 



6. Other software that I find useful


jext - a nice java editor
http://www.jext.org


cygwin - unix like shell and tools for windows
http://www.cygwin.com/


xemacs - my prefered text editor
http://www.xemacs.org/