To our knowledge, there is no QuickTime "plug-in" available for UNIX workstations. Instead, a QuickTime-capable "helper application" must be used.
If you use either Mosaic or Netscape from the infoagents locker, your browser is automatically configured for you to launch a QuickTime-capable viewer called xanim. However, the xanim defaults are set to send sound to the workstation speaker and to loop continuously on playback. This is annoying to your fellow users in the public clusters, and probably annoying to you when you hear the same sound file repeated endlessly.
There are two steps to fix this - first, modify the configuration of your Web browser, and second, modify the workstation's sound output.
Startup your browser; choose "Options; General Preferences" and then "Helpers". Find the entry for Mime type video/* in the list of helpers and select it. Choose "Edit" and make the xanim arguments be:
-Ap0 +Zpe %s
The first argument disables xanim's ability to change the audio output port to the speaker. It is actually necessary only on Suns, where additionally you MUST manually set the audio output port. (See the "Audio" section below.) The second disables looping, pausing at the end of the segment.
Create (if you don't have one already) a file in your homedirectory named .mailcap. Make a new line (or edit the existing one) to look like:
video/* /mit/graphics/bin/xanim -Ap0 +Zpe %s
You'll have to tell the browser to re-read its configuration files, or quit and restart, for the change to take effect.
If you use any other browser, we cannot guarantee the results, as we have no control over the state of the configuration. Something similar to what you do with Netscape and Mosaic should be possible, but please contact the maintainer of the browser in question for more help.
On a public workstation, you should listen to sound with your own set of headphones from a personal stereo, or similar device. On all Athena machines the headphone jack is on the back of the workstation, but details vary as follows:
On all Suns, to set the audio output device(s) follow these steps:
The headphone jack is the left-most mini jack on the back panel, as you face it. Simply by plugging in the headphones, you direct the Indy to disable the workstation speaker.
CAUTION! Make sure to run your browser on the machine to which you are displaying. That is, if you are using telnet to connect to a different machine, and run your browser there, but display locally, sound will not work. Well, actually, it will, but the sound player routes the output to the local audio port on the machine where the player is running. So whoever is sitting in front of that machine's CPU will be treated to your Japanese lessons.