School of Law Requirements, Support Policies and Guidelines
Helpful Information:
Dell Law School Model
Dell Latitude E6400 Series
To purchase please call Jay at 406-243-1234 x618 or
email Jay
You may purchase the Microsoft Office Pro Plus 2010 software and Adobe Acrobat Professional from The Bookstore with your GrizCard. You will need to use elements of these software packages for Law School assignments.
The Microsoft Office Pro Plus 2010 (which includes OneNote) is available from The Bookstore (with your GrizCard) for $80 in a special price packet. You must inquire about this software at the Technology Counter in The Bookstore.
Adobe Acrobat Professional is available from The Bookstore (with your GrizCard) for $65.00.
Adobe Acrobat Professional Extended offers audio, video, 3D, CAD and map capabilities for greatly enhancing PDF files and PowerPoint slides for interaction. It includes Adobe Presenter and is available from The Bookstore (with your GrizCard) for $125.00.
For document portability consider a 4GB or larger USB flash drive. Pricing varies according to capacity and several choices are available in The Bookstore.
Music, photos and video are best kept on an external hard drive to protect them from loss should your computer hard drive experience a failure. There are many choices available in capacity and design and price varies accordingly. One example at the Bookstore is the LaCie Starck 320GB at $89.99.
The Bookstore provides this computer information as a service to the students of the UM Law School. For more information about the Law School or The University of Montana, visit these sites:
UM Web SiteUM School of Law
- Law School Technical Assistance: The law school technical staff offers limited basic software service to currently enrolled law students for the DELL E6400 series laptop and other PC computer models listed on the UM School of Law IT web pages. For all other computers assistance is limited to help in loading Microsoft Office, WordPerfect, necessary utilities and other site-licensed software during the first three weeks of school. We provide no service or support whatsoever for Apple computers.
- Accidental Damage Warranty Coverage:
- Laptop computers are easily damaged and expensive to repair. Students are best served by maintaining full on-site next day warranty coverage with complete care (accidental damage coverage) for as long as they intend to own their laptop computer. Law students cannot do without their computers for the 3-4 weeks mail-in service may require. Law students who own Dell computers should contact Dell Service for hardware repair by calling (800) 274-7799, use option 3 and have the computer's Express Code (not service tag) available. Or, go to http://support.dell.com/ and choose the chat feature.
- Entering first year students who purchase their computer before the middle of July, 2010 should purchase a 4-year warranty so that their computer will still be covered at the time of the bar exam in July, 2013.
- New Laptop Computers - A Good Idea:
- Laptop computers are not required for law students, but virtually all UM Law students own one. We encourage our students to utilize this most important tool.
- We will assist students only with computers that run Windows XP Professional or Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate (NOT Windows 7 Starter, Windows 7 Home, Windows 7 Basic, Vista, XP Home Edition or XP Media Center Edition) - The law school IT staff will not assist students running the Windows Vista operating system. Home and Media editions of Windows 7, Vista and XP do not provide users the services needed to access UM network resources.
- Computer hardware technology presently doubles in functionality about 2 years. Consequently, computer equipment can become outdated (unsupported and difficult to use) after about three years. Law students who start law school with a two-year-old computer will likely find it to be unsatisfactory well before graduation.
- When to Order a Computer for Law School: As the new school year approaches suppliers are inundated with laptop computer orders. In order to assure that your computer will arrive in time to have it available for the fall orientation program first year students should place computer orders no later than the middle of July, 2010.
- How to Order a Dell Computer for Law School: To order a Dell Latitude E6400 series computer contact Jay Michalik - Ph: 406-243-1234 ext. 618 - Email: JMichalik@MontanaBookstore.com -- Jay will discuss the configuration options with you and place your order.
- All Sales Final: All sales are final on laptops ordered from The Bookstore.
- UM School of Law Not Compensated for Laptop Sales: Neither the University of Montana, nor the UM School of Law has any financial interest in any student laptop purchases.
- Wireless access: Wireless access is expanding rapidly at UM. It is currently available throughout the Law School, in the University Center, the Liberal Arts Building, the Mansfield Library and other locations. For a map of current campus wireless access locations go to: http://umt.edu/it/wireless/accesslocations-map.aspx. In order to maintain the wireless service, the UM School of Law accommodates 'g' band and 'n' band wireless service only. Wireless service is not available on 'b' band at the law school because it is too slow to be of practical use to our students and may impair service. Entering law students will need 'g'/'n' band wireless cards. If your laptop does not have a built-in 'g'/'n' band wirelss card you may obtain an external wireless adapter from the Bookstore or most electronics stores.
- Printing Via GrizCard: The School of Law provides printing services to students. Printing charges are paid via GrizCard. GrizCards are also necessary to check out books and may be used to pay for meals and other services on campus and to pay for other goods and services available from cooperating merchants in Missoula. Incoming students should obtain a GrizCard at the University Center at their earliest opportunity.
- UM Network Access Policies: Users should be aware that all computers accessing The University of Montana network (including the wireless network) are subject to the security, monitoring and appropriate-use policies specified by the Montana Board of Regents. Unauthorized use is a violation of Mont. Code Ann. § 45-6-311 and Montana University System policies. By continuing to use University of Montana systems, users are deemed to have indicated their awareness of and consent to these terms and conditions of use. These policies are located here.
- CONTACT: LawIT@Umontana.Edu for further information concerning computer use at the UM School of Law or feel free to call James Cramer during business hours at 406-243-5584.
Click for a guide to
UM School of Law computing services
Computer Loans:- Missoula Federal Credit Union offers computer loans to UM students purchasing computers from the University Bookstore at reduced rates. Students who purchase a computer through CTG Computers are also eligible for Missoula Federal Credit Union computer loans under an alternate loan program. Also, financial aid funds may be available for purchasing a computer. Contact Connie Bowman at the UM Financial Aid office for information about adding funding for a computer purchase to your financial aid package.
Supplemental Data Storage:- External Drives: USB drives are now inexpensive and very convenient as external storage devices. Many students carry these drives in their pockets. Several choices are available at The Bookstore.
- Music & Image Storage: Law students should not store large quantities of music, photographs or video on the laptop computer they depend upon for law school use. Doing so will slow computer response time and make it more difficult and time consuming to recover from a system failure. Law school technical staff will not assist in recovering voluminous music and image files from crashed systems. If you plan to accumulate a substantial media library the better plan is to purchase a portable external hard drive to store media libraries.
Software You Will Need:- Word Processing Software: Most UM law students seem to prefer Microsoft Office Suite which includes OneNote (essential software for UM law students) and PowerPoint software for law school presentations. Corel WordPerfect Office X4 is used widely by Law School faculty as well as in local law firms. It is available at no cost to Law School students from the Law School IT staff. Students may purchase Microsoft software at a substantial discount at The Bookstore with a GrizCard.
- Adobe Acrobat Professional or Professional Extended: Very Useful because it enables students to read, highlight and annotate reference materials online which will save printing costs. Adobe Acrobat Professional is available from The Bookstore (with your GrizCard) for $65. Adobe Acrobat Professional Extended offers audio, video, 3D, CAD and map capabilities for greatly enhancing PDF files and PowerPoint slides for interaction. it includes Adobe Presenter and is available from The Bookstore (with your GrizCard) for $125.00.
- Anti-virus Software: The University has a site license for
Symantec Anti-
Virus software. It is available at no charge to all students. Purchasing it with
your computer is not necessary. If you purchase your system through this web site
Symantec Anti-Virus software will be installed on and configured on your computer
when you receive it. This enterprise version of Symantec Anti-Virus will be
configured to receive virus definition updates automatically from the law school
servers.
- Computer viruses that can completely disable individual computers and even entire networks now circulate freely. Therefore continuously updated Norton Anti-Virus software (free to UM students) is required for all computers that connect to the University network. University of Montana network access is necessary in order to print from personal computers at the law school, to access shared storage on law school servers, and for wireless or LAN access to Westlaw, Lexis/Nexis or other Internet sites from campus.
Printing:
- Personal Printers: A law student's printing needs are typically large. One of the ways to meet those needs is through the convenience of having a personal laser printer. Because the primary type of document that will be printed consists solely of text, a laser printer offering lower cost per page than a color inkjet printer is a better choice. The matrix below gives a general indication of the purchase price for personal laser printers through the Bookstore and a relative cost for toner per page printed. The printer prices, model availability and cost of toner is subject to change and is only representative of what was current at the end of March, 2010. This information is presented for general comparison only. A selection of printers is available in the Bookstore and Dell printers can be ordered with or without a computer.
Model Printer Price Relative Price Per Page* 
Dell 2230d$196 with 3yr Warranty and 10ft cable 2.8 cents 
HP P1100$149 with 1yr Warranty and no cable 4.5 cents *based only on toner cost at 5% coverage. Does not include cost of paper or drum if used. Printing graphics or greater coverage increases cost.
- Printing Services: Owning a laser printer is not the only option for printing. Documents can be printed at the UM School of Law and at several locations on campus using GrizPrint, the system that allows you to pay for your printing using UMoney on your GrizCard. Swipe your GrizCard at a release station next to the printer to pay for your printing and release your print job. To deposit money to your GrizCard UMoney account online go to the GrizCard web page at: http://life.umt.edu/gcc/
