What computer to buy?

These recommendations are intended to help ensure the machine you are purchasing now will last the four years of your dental education. You will find an increasing use for laptops and iPods during your dental education. Currently, students are using them to access course Web sites, digital videos, podcasts and more. While not a requirement a laptop and iPod will allow you greater flexibility in participating in these learning activities.

Laptop Recommendation

Laptop feature

Recommendation

Note

Processor

Dual-Core (Core Duo) Technology (Minimum)

Celeron processors are NOT recommended, be sure to inquire about this before purchasing.

Memory (RAM)

1 GB

 

Hard drive

60 GB or greater

Speed should be 5400 RPM

Video

128mb RAM or more

Avoid integrated video cards.

Optical Drive

DVD Burner

A DVD burner is recommended for backing up your data. CDs are currently being phased out and replaced by DVDs.

Wireless

Integrated 802.11g or greater

 

Removable Storage

USB Flash Drive

Flash drives are also known as pen drives, jump drives, key drives, etc.

Warranty

Apple's AppleCare Protection Plan, Dell's Complete Care warranty or equivalent

 

Mobile Audio Device

iPod nano or greater

Audio podcasts are made in many D1 and D2 classes. A nano or above is required to select a specific podcast. The use of enhanced podcasts containing media and/or presentation slides is increasing. Thus, you should consider a 5th generation iPod if you want to view this content.

Printer

Laser Printer or Inkjet

We recommend a laser printer. If you purchase an inkjet printer, be sure it has separate cartridges for color and black ink.

 

 

Software Recommendation

Software type

Recommendation

Operating System

Windows XP Professional or Mac OS X 10.4 (we are not recommending Windows Vista until the release of Service Pack 1)

iTunes

Apple iTunes 7.0 (Windows or Mac) - free at www.apple.com/itunes

Office

Office 2007 or Mac Office 2004 Pro ($47.17 and $42.45 at Showcase)

Virus Protection Software

The University of Michigan has a site license for Windows and Macs. A current version is required for connection to the dental school network. See: virusbusters.itcs.umich.edu

 

What about my home Internet access?

High speed Internet access is recommended. Several options we are aware of:

What about printing?

You have 400 pages of free black and white printing per semester at the Dental School and other campus computing labs. The cost of black and white printing at these labs is 6 cents per page once the 400 page limit is exceeded.

For more information on printing services on the University of Michigan campus, visit http://www.itd.umich.edu/printing/index.html.

If you wish to purchase a printer for home use, be aware that with a color ink jet printer or laser printer, the per page cost of printing is currently around 30-40 cents per page.

Data Backup and Data Security

Lost and stolen laptops are in the news a lot lately, with great concern over both loss of the data they contain and having those data get into the wrong hands.

ITCS' Connected Backup service allows for any network connected Windows workstation, both desktop and laptop, to back up over the network. The user can then restore individual files, groups of files or the entire computer. (For more information, see http://www.umich.edu/~lannos/cnb.) This protects against the first worry - data stored on the computer being lost to the owner of the data.

Iron Mountain is the vendor that supplies the software for Connected Backup. Iron Mountain has another product, Data Defense, that protects against the second worry - data getting into the wrong hands. First, the data are encrypted. Then, using a number of configurable triggers based on incorrect password attempts and time out of communication on the network, data on the laptop can be protected through a number of actions - displaying a message, logging the event, shutting down the computer, deleting the key encrypting the data or deleting the data. The data can also be deleted remotely even if the triggers have not been activated, when the laptop has been reported stolen.

Data Defense is delivered as a subscription through Iron Mountain or as software that can be run in-house.

Computer Repair