College of Education Laptop Support Policies

The TRC Department has a very talented (and FRIENDLY) but small staff. In order to provide the highest level of support to our students, faculty, and staff the TRC Department has implemented a few important policies. Please be aware of these when you request laptop support.

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What We Can Do...
Supported Laptops: The TRC Department provides full support for supported computers. This includes software support and next-day, in-house warranty repairs.
Non-Supported Laptops: Very limited service is provided for non-supported computers. No repair service is offered for non-supported computers.
Service for non-recommended laptops is limited to:

• Laptops running the recommended operating system. (For laptops with a pre-Windows XP operating system, the TRC Department can attempt to recover data, but can provide no other services.)
• Installation of recommended software. Students MUST present original software disks or proof of license before the TRC staff can install software.

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What We Can't Do...
Limited Support or NO Support is provided for the following.

• LIMITED - Apple computers - The TRC staff offers limited support for Apple computers. For hardware service within the warranty period take your computer to the Bookstore's Technology counter for repair assistance.
  
  NO Support is provided for the following.
• Computers owned by friends or relatives of enrolled students. This is a mis-use of state services and is absolutely forbidden.
• Non-supported laptops (except as noted above).
• Computer peripherals such as printers, scanners, iPods, etc.

University of Montana Computing Policies

Minimum Laptop Specifications

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SUPPORTED LAPTOPS
WHY BUY A SUPPORTED LAPTOP?

You will use your laptop extensively both in and out of class. The supported models are configured to provide the features College of Education students need most. You will find the laptops we support below. We strongly encourage UM College of Education students to purchase the laptop computers we support.

1. We offer full factory-authorized, next-day hardware warranty service and software support on our Dell supported models. If your computer breaks we will be able to fix it in the shortest time possible.

2. We do not provide any warranty or support services for non-supported laptops. If your computer breaks, you will have to take it to a local computer repair shop or send it to an authorized service center. The College of Education has laptops to loan while yours is being repaired.

Additionally, we strongly encourage you to purchase your Dell laptop through Jay Michalik in the Bookstore so that you can take advantage of the pre-configured packages they offer College of Education students that include in-house warranty service. If you want to purchase a non-supported model or a supported model from another source, you must make sure your computer strictly meets the Minimum Laptop Specifications, especially regarding the warranty. We cannot provide warranty service on computers that do not meet these minimum specifications.

Again, we do not provide any service or support on non-supported laptops even if they meet the Minimum Laptop Recommendations.

Minimum Laptop Specifications

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SUPPORTED DELL LAPTOPS
Dell Latitude E5400 - Affordable, Standard Features)
Dell Latitude E6400 - (More Power, More Things - More Money)

Dell Latitude E5400
Price/Warranty (with shipping included)
$886.00 (3 yr.)
$945.60 (4 yr.)
$981.20 (3 yr. with Complete Care)
$1,064.80 (4 yr. with Complete Care)
**NOTE: Complete Care is Accidental Damage Protection

• Intel^® Core^TM 2 Duo^®T7250 (2.00 GHz) 2M L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB
• 14.1" Wide Screen WXGA LCD display
• Intel^® Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
• Windows^® Vista Business downgrade, XP Professional SP3 installed, with media
• 2.0GB DDR2-800MHz SDRAM, 1 DIMM
• 160GB Hard Drive, 5400RPM
• Dell Wireless^® 1397 802.11b/g 1/2MiniCard
• 24X CD-RW/DVD w/ Cyberlink Power DVD^TM
• 6-Cell Primary Battery
• 90W A/C Adapter
• Resource DVD - Contains Diagnostics and Drivers
• 3 Yr Limited Warranty plus 3 Yr NBD On-site Service
• PCMCIA and SD/MMC
• Ports: IEEE - 1394, docking connector, 4 USB 2.0, VGA, S-Video, Gigabit Ethernet, headphone/speaker out, mic

Dell Latitude E6400
Price/Warranty (with shipping included)
$1,360.00 (3 yr. with Complete Care)
$1,406.80 (4 yr. with Complete Care)
$1,200.00 (3 yr. w/o Complete Care)
$1,363.60 (4 yr. w/o Complete Care)
**NOTE: Complete Care is Accidental Damage Protection

• Intel^® Core^TM 2 Duo^® P8400 (2.26GHz) 3M L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB
• 14.1" Wide Screen WXGA+ Antiglare LED display
• Mobile Intel^® Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD with Express Card
• Windows^® Vista Business downgrade, XP Professional SP3 installed, with media
• 2.0GB DDR2-800MHz SDRAM, 2 DIMMs
• 160GB Hard Drive, 7200RPM (Free Fall Sensor)
• Intel^® WiFi Link 5300 ( 802.11a/g/n 3X3) 1/2 MiniCard
• 8X DVD+/-RW with Roxio^TM and Cyberlink Power DVD^TM
• Internal Fingerprint Reader
• Dell Wireless^® 370 Bluetooth 2.1 Minicard
• 9-Cell Primary Battery
• 90W A/C Adapter
• Resource DVD - Contains Diagnostics and Drivers
• Integrated VGA Webcam with digital microphone
• 3 Yr Limited Warranty plus 3 Yr NBD On-site Service and Complete Care
• ExpressCard 54 slot, Smart Card Reader and Contactless Smart Card Reader
• Ports: IEEE - 1394, docking connector, 4 USB 2.0, VGA, Display Port, Gigabit Ethernet, eSATA, USB PowerShare, headphone/speaker out, mic

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APPLE LAPTOPS
Apple - 13-inch MacBook
Apple - 15-inch MacBook Pro
**NOTE: LIMITED Support on Apple laptops

Apple MacBook 13"
Price/Warranty
$1,132.00 (3 yr.)

• 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• White Polycarbonate unibody enclosure
• 2GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x1GB
• LED-backlit display
• NVIDIA GeForce 320M processor
• 250GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
• SuperDrive 8x (DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
• Accessory kit
• AppleCare Protection Plan for MacBook - 3 year warranty

Apple MacBook Pro 15"
Price/Warranty
$1,938.00 (3 yr.)

• 2.4GHz Intel Core i5
• 4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
• 320GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
• SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
• SD cardslot
• Intel HD Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 256MB
• Backlit Keyboard (English) / User's Guide
• Accessory kit
• AppleCare Protection Plan for MacBook Pro - 3 year warranty

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PURCHASING RECOMMENDED LAPTOPS

• We strongly encourage you to purchase your computer through the Bookstore so that you can take advantage of these Academic-discounted prices offered College of Education students. If you desire a loan for your computer, the Missoula Federal Credit Union UM Computer Loan Program offers 8% computer loans when purchased through the Bookstore. Upon loan approval they will provide a pre-loaded credit card to use for your order.

• In addition we recommend that you purchase the Microsoft Office student package and a large USB "thumb drive" through The Bookstore.

To Purchase your Dell laptop:

• These are ordered by the Bookstore through Jay Michalik. You can ask for him in the Bookstore, call him at 406-243-1234 x618 or email him at jmichalik@montanabookstore.com. He will assist you with any questions about upgrades to the components or other items to consider with your computer purchase.

• When the computer arrives you will be contacted for pick up. Take your computer to the TRC technical staff in the Teachers Resource Center where it will be prepared for you. Once it is prepared you will pick it up from the TRC.

To Purchase your Apple laptop:

• To buy your computer online with a credit card, click the UM Bookstore's Apple Link, choose your computer, Add to Cart and complete the information fields.

• When your computer arrives take it to the TRC technical staff in the Teachers Resource Center where it will be prepared for you. Once it is prepared you will pick it up from the TRC.

MINIMUM LAPTOP SPECIFICATIONS

• Since the use of appropriate technology is a core principle of our programs, we encourage students to own their own laptops. While most laptops will work fine for a majority of our applications, we do have some recommendations that will help you choose a laptop.

• Two minimum laptops we recommend are bundled with University discount pricing. The Dell Latitude E5400 - fully supported by the CoE, and the Apple Macbook- limited support. Both these machines can come in different configurations, with different warranty options, and with different software. There are more powerful and capable models available, so consider going beyond our minimum recommendations if you think your computing needs require it, or your pocketbook allows it. Please contact the TRC at 243-2143 for answers to your questions or click here for more details.

• Older laptops, or those with few features and processing power may limit your ability to do some assignments and also limit your connectivity with the University's wireless network. The College of Education cannot support unrecommended models.

• These are our recommended Minimum Laptop Specifications. Although we encourage the purchase of one of the supported laptops, we've provided these hardware and software specifications to help.
  

  MINIMUM SPECIFICATIONS
  
  Hardware

• 2 GB of RAM
• Ethernet port
• Wireless card (built-in wireless adapter)
• DVD-RW Drive

Software

• PC - Microsoft Windows XP Professional or Windows 7 (not the HOME edition)
• Apple - Mac OS X v10.5
• Anti-virus software is required. We can provide this software free of charge.
• We recommend Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007 or newer for Windows, and MS Office 2008 or newer for the Mac.
• We recommend that an extended warranty also be purchased. The Dell Warranty gives you full CoE technical support.

 

Supported Laptops

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