The Alberta Haskayne Executive MBA. Laptop Computer Hardware and Software Requirements

Transcription

1 The Alberta Haskayne Executive MBA Laptop Computer Hardware and Software Requirements 2014/2015

2 EMBA Student Laptops 2014/2015 EMBA Student Laptop Guide 2014 INTRODUCTION Computing technologies are an integral part of any successful business. The University of Calgary relies on proven technologies to deliver services to students, faculty, and staff. Technologies an EMBA Student will be using (but not limited to): UofC Portal ( Student records, transcripts, , and first point of contact for all services the University of Calgary provides students Desire2Learn Online Course Management System which provides access to grades, course content, and professors In Class Printing solutions EMBA Course related software EMBA Students are encouraged to meet with IT Staff prior to attending classes to ensure they will not encounter difficulties. We are also available for remote sessions to assist from student locations. USE OF CORPORATE LAPTOP COMPUTERS Students using laptops supplied by their workplace will need to work closely with their company IT department. Appendix: A - Conditions for Corporate Laptop Computer Use is required to be given to your corporate IT department to ensure your laptop will not create conflicts at work or in the classroom. HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS The following two sections detail what the recommended hardware and software configurations are for this program. If you already own a laptop, check to ensure your system has the Minimum specifications. If it does not, there is a good chance you will need/want to upgrade at some time in the next two years. If you need to purchase a laptop, try to purchase something in the Preferred column. The most important characteristics (in order) are: memory (RAM) (ensure it has room for expanding later), hard drive size (expensive to upgrade later), weight (remember, you re going to be carrying the machine, as well as your textbooks, around for the next two years). External drives will work too, but you do need to remember to bring them to class. Floppy drives are no longer required as files can be posted to web drives or sent through rather than copied to disk. DVD players are nice additions to a laptop, but are not required for the EMBA program. COMPUTER SKILL REQUIREMENTS Before you enter the executive MBA program, you should know how to accomplish the following computer-based tasks. Strength in using Microsoft Excel is important in the Data Analysis (Statistics) course. Windows Windows 7/Windows 8 q Installing/uninstalling software q Starting/quitting programs and switching among active programs q Creating/deleting/copying/moving files/folders q Backup/restore processes q Cut, Copy/paste processes (between programs) Microsoft Office 2007/2010/2013 Word q Entering and editing text (copy, cut, paste, move, special characters, track changes) q Formatting (a document, page, paragraph and text) q Tables (creating, modifying, moving, formatting, inserting/deleting rows/columns) q Graphics (inserting, editing) PowerPoint q Creating a slide (enter data, edit, apply a template, modify backgrounds) q Creating a show (apply a template, animations, transitions) q Print (slides, speaker notes, handouts) Excel q Creating a new spreadsheet (enter/delete/modify data entries) q Formatting (fonts, column widths, page layouts, field formats) q Creating graphs from existing data (chart wizards, editing existing charts, formats) q Basic formulas and functions q Basic and immediate statistical functions q Data manipulation, validation/verification techniques and calculation q Printing (margins, headers, footers, sheet options), page setup, print Area q Saving Excel files in different formats Page 2 of 6

3 Web Browser (Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox) q Opening a website with a URL address q Managing Favourites or Bookmarks q Printing web pages (including formatting for printing) q Mailing web pages or addresses to others q Downloading and working with files (e.g. Adobe Acrobat, use of plug-ins, etc.) Any system q Managing messages (create a new one, forward, reply, reply including original) q Attaching/detaching files to messages q Managing an address book (adding/changing/deleting individuals and groups) q Registering/unregistering for list servers or mailing lists EMBA Student Laptop Guide 2014 PURCHASING A LAPTOP COMPUTER/ WHERE TO BUY The following guidelines will help you make a purchasing decision. Please ensure that you have a laptop computer purchased and available for use prior to August 10, Does the laptop computer you are considering meet the preferred specifications in the Hardware Requirements table? q Is the price competitive with laptops of similar quality? Is the software that comes installed on the machine useful to you? Warranty/Service Contract Look for a minimum two-year warranty with one of the following: q Next-business-day on-site service, i.e. they'll come to you to fix the computer or, q Service shop in Calgary or Edmonton with guaranteed two-day turnaround or, q Depot service - i.e. you ship the computer overnight to a remote repair facility, they fix it and ship it back to you - with guaranteed three- to five-day turnaround q Remember screens are normally not part of a laptop warranty! Apple Computers (Important) We understand the Mac user's commitment to their computer. However, there are a few known issues when using Macs in the EMBA program. Printer drivers for Macintosh computers are different than those for Windows. The drivers should work but are not supported. Risk Solver Platform software is necessary for the program and will not run on the Mac operating system. MacBook laptops have the ability to run Windows natively. Windows will need to be purchased in addition to the laptop purchase. ITS will do its best to provide support for Mac laptops but the support will be limited. Page 3 of 6

4 EMBA Student Laptop Guide 2014 HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS The following guide can be used to make purchasing decisions. Hardware Preferred Minimum Processor (CPU) Intel i5 2.0 GHz + Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8GHz Memory 4GB+ 4 GB Hard Drive 100GB 64 GB Battery Life 4 Hours 2 Hours Ethernet Network Card Internal 10/100Mbps NIC card (your card must be capable of running on a 10Mbps network) Any 10/100Mbps NIC card, with an RJ45 connector and correctly installed drivers Wireless Network Cards Required Required CD-RW Drive or DVD ±RW Drive DVDRW± (optional if laptop weight is an issue) DVDRW± USB port 3 2 Sound Card Yes Yes Screen Size 15.4 inch inch Home Internet Connectivity Cable or ADSL 56K dialup connectivity RJ45 Cable (for Ethernet) 8 ft 8 ft NETWORK COMPONENTS You will need an Ethernet adapter for access to the Internet on the University campus. If you are purchasing a new computer, it will probably have wireless/lan pre-installed. Ask your retailer for recommendations. SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS Software Version Comments Operating System All operating systems must be English Windows 7 (Recommended) Windows 8 You will need Administrator rights on your laptop and Windows updates needs to be set to run regularly Microsoft Office 2010/2013 Available directly from Microsoft with Student Discount Pricing t/office/en-ca/default.aspx $79.00 CAD Word, Excel and PowerPoint are compulsory Also available from the Microstore on Campus for $130 Risk Solver Platform Office 2007/2010/2013 Risk analysis, simulation, and optimization software for Excel. The EMBA program will provide Risk Solver Platform. Page 4 of 6

5 Software Version Comments EMBA Student Laptop Guide 2014 Microsoft Security Essentials Microsoft Security Essentials CA/windows/security-essentials-download RefWorks (RefWorks is a Web-based software that saves, organizes and manages sources of bibliography) (It will be installed on your laptop) Outlook, Outlook Express or Mozilla Thunderbird Account Office 2007/2010/2013 (7 or 8) You can work with any service you want to, but sending using Telus or Shaw accounts may require special account settings. Consult Telus or Shaw web sites to get information about the settings. It is free for the University of Calgary students. Registered students, who have active University of Calgary IT accounts can create RefWorks account online at the University of Calgary, Library web site hp A University of Calgary account is created once an IT account is created Adobe Flash* latest May be required to open web pages (* These will be checked during your laptop session. If you do not have them installed on your laptop, they will be installed.) You will be provided with a University of Calgary IT account and shown how to maintain forwarding from this account to another mailbox. Most mail clients support the University of Calgary student imap mail system. PRINTING The EMBA classroom (SH257) has a Xerox 4260 printer for your use. Print requests are sent to the printer using IP printing services. Each operating system uses a different method of installing IP printing services and instructions for each operating system are available upon request. We also can help facilitate the installation and configuration of printing on your laptop. HELP We coordinate with Dr. Bob prior to Intensive Week so that we can test connectivity and set up printing. We will also install Decision Tools software for use in your Data Analysis. If you have questions concerning any aspect of student laptop computing for the Executive MBA program, please emba.it@haskayne.ucalgary.ca Page 5 of 6

6 APPENDIX A Information for your Corporate IT Department EMBA STUDENT LAPTOP GUIDE CONDITIONS FOR CORPORATE LAPTOP COMPUTER USE If you are using your corporate laptop computer for your studies, you should resolve whichever of the following issues are relevant before the beginning of the program. Please provide a copy of this document to your IT department and discuss any issues with them several weeks in advance, so you can resolve the issues before Intensive Week begins. Your IT department may lock the configuration on your laptop by requiring an administrative password to change the configuration. Before you meet with EMBA IT Staff make sure that your IT department has given you administrative rights on your computer. Some corporate IT departments will insist, for security reasons that they do all the necessary installation and configuration of the laptop you will be using in the program. Configuring your laptop to connect to the Internet in the classroom might require that you manually change the configuration each time you switch between work and school. You will need to understand how to do this, if you are to successfully use the same computer between work and school. Consider having your corporate IT department set up a dual configuration system, which prompts you, each time you boot your computer, to select the network configuration you will be using. To get connected to the Internet in the ESSO Theatre classroom, the TCP/IP properties on your network card must be set as follows: IP Address=Obtain an IP address automatically (DHCP) DNS Configuration=DNS disabled WINS Configuration=DHCP for WINS If your company network standard is DHCP, your computer should move easily from your Office to the Classroom without need for switching. If your work environment requires that you have a static IP address, you will need to have a second network setting for the University of Calgary. If your company uses a proxy server, you will also need to know how to turn the proxy server off in your browser software and, possibly, in the control panel. Please note that the IT assistance provided by the EMBA program is limited to ensuring network connectivity, printing, and installing and configuring the appropriate classroom software. We do not provide computer repair services, repairs to your operating system or data management. We are only able to assist with your laptop setup if your operating system is in English. Page 6 of 6