Notebook Computer Specifications
Elon University School of Law - Fall 2006

The Elon University School of Law has been built to enable you to take full advantage of today's information technology. To this end, a comprehensive wireless network will be built allowing you to access computer information anywhere inside the law school building. Although not required for completion of your legal studies, the acquisition of a notebook computer will allow you to access all of the law school's technology including faculty course pages, Westlaw and Lexis, the library's online catalog and your personal space on the school network.

Since our nation's legal system operates primarily in a PC computer environment we encourage and support hardware such as Gateway, Dell, and IBM computers, and Microsoft software products. Thus, we suggest the following notebook computer configurations for your notebook computer:

Operating System Windows 2000 Professional or XP* Professional

Processor Pentium 4 2.4 GHz or Pentium M 1.2 GHz

Memory (RAM) 512 Mb or more

Hard Drive 40 GB or larger

Ethernet Card Any 10/100/1000 card with twisted pair interface (RJ 45)

Required Wireless 128 bit encryption
Capabilities Wi-Fi certified

Three-year on-site warranty

* Windows XP Home Edition does not support domain login. Our network works best with operating systems that allow domain login. The IBM type PC operating systems we support include Windows 98 SE, 2000 Professional, and XP Professional.

Computer technology is constantly evolving. As the technology changes, manufacturers regularly offer new features at lower costs. To take advantage of current trends, we recommend the following:

Delaying the purchase of a new notebook computer as long as possible to take advantage of falling prices and increasing capabilities.
Consider using the special arrangements Elon has negotiated with manufacturers to purchase your computer. For full information, visit http://www.elon.edu/technology/suprt-purComp.htm
Purchasing your new computer from a well known manufacturer, such as Gateway, Dell or IBM, though students have also had acceptable experiences with a variety of manufacturers.
Purchasing a three-year on-site warranty so that vendor help comes to your computer rather than the other way around.

We support Microsoft Office and Microsoft Internet Explorer. We also strongly recommend that you purchase Norton Anti-Virus or other anti-virus software for your notebook computer.