The first thing you'll need is a computer. All of the CTF MEG System software is Linux/x86 based, so you'll need Linux. We recommend a machine that's as fast as possible, 3 GHz or better, though you can get away with less. At least 1 GB of RAM, and plenty of hard disk. You can get 250 GB disks these days. You should probably figure on at least a couple gigabytes per subject. DVD ROM, or a DVD burner for archive storage. The MEG Lab has a DVD+R/RW burner for your use. If you plan to do lots of 3D work with SUMA, make sure you check the AFNI/SUMA pages (see MegLinks) for a suitable display card. You can use a dual boot (Linux, Windows) system if you like.
The Linux distribution that is officially supported is RedHat Enterprise 3 (WS). You can run the software on other distributions, but you will need to install some extra shared libraries.
Next, you'll need the basic analysis software. The Core Staff will install it for you if you like, or you can do it yourself, by following the instructions on the CTF Software Installation page.
The MEG Lab maintains a few extra programs that will come in handy, see the main Software page for those.
In the course of doing MEG Data Analysis, you will find yourself repeating some operations many times. The best way to do this is to write a script that can be given arguments; this both saves manual effort (thus reducing error) and ensures that all your subjects are analyzed the same way. While a primer on Unix commands is beyond the scope of this web page, and is anyway available elsewhere, there are a few basic commands that are absolutely essential. Check out the Scripting Basics page for more about that.
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