NEW STUDENT ORIENTATION
Computer Purchasing Information

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Students may be eligible for up to $2,000 in additional student loans for the purchase of a laptop computer. You must make your purchase before you request the loan. You need to submit a receipt to the Law School Financial Aid Office along with your petition form to get the up to $2,000 reimbursement. Petition forms can be requested from Law Financial Aid Office.

Golden Gate University School of Law has entered into pricing agreements with Dell Computers and Apple Computers for Golden Gate University student discounts. Discounts for Apple Computers are only available to matriculated students.

You are encouraged to comparison shop at different vendors for the best laptop price. It is recommended that you purchase the laptop from a major computer company such as Toshiba, Dell, Apple, Hewlett Packard, and Lenovo.

• Operating System
• We recommend getting a PC running Microsoft Vista or XP. The Law School Helpdesk provides very limited support of the Mac OS. If you want to use your computer to type your exams, you must have a laptop running Windows XP or Vista natively or in a dual boot configuration on an Apple computer (with the Intel processor). Our exam software will not run in a Windows emulated environment (through Parallel, VMware Fusion and the like) on a Mac. The Mac OS X Panther can co-exist with a Windows partition if Boot Camp is installed. Due to limited staff resources, students are expected to install Window on their Mac by themselves. Please also consider the additional cost of acquiring the Windows installation media.
  
• GGU is currently licensing the ExamSoft software for students to use on exams. This is the also the same software currently used by the California Bar Exam. For more information on the ExamSoft software, including the minimum specifications, please go to www.examsoft.com.
  

• Software
• Anti-Virus Software: If you intend to connect to the GGU network, you must have up-to-date anti-virus software installed on your computer. The Law School technology staff cannot provide support to any student laptop without up-to-date virus protection. You may want to consider getting commercial Anti-virus packages from McAfee or Kaspersky.
• Firewall Software: If your antivirus package does not include a software firewall, we recommend that you install firewall software. Zone Labs offers free Windows firewall software that students can download at www.zonelabs.com.
• Wordprocessing Software: You are not required to purchase any text-editing software. However, most students purchase the Microsoft Office Suite or Corel WordPerfect. Open Office is an alternative word processor that is free of charge. OpenOffice is available at www.openoffice.org.
  

• Form Factor
• You will be taking many courses that require heavy textbooks, so you may want to consider purchasing a computer that is both durable and light. We recommend getting a laptop around 5 pounds or less.
  

• Warranty
• Laptop repairs without warranty can be expensive. You should consider a three-year warranty. The Law School Helpdesk does not repair any student laptop hardware.
  

• Hardware
• Processor: You should buy a laptop with the fastest processor you can afford. The Intel Dual Core or the faster Intel Core 2 Duo processor is recommended. The AMD Athlon X2 chip also provides good performance and low power consumption.
  

• RAM Memory: The minimum amount of RAM that you should consider for your laptop is 1 Gigabyte(Gb). Microsoft Vista runs better with 2 Gb. In general, having abundant RAM memory improves system performance.
  

• Hard Drive: Most laptops now come with at least 60 Gigabyte of storage. This is adequate if you do not download music or videos.
  

• Network Access (wireless): GGU currently has an 802.11b and 802.11g compatible wireless network available throughout the University for Law Students. If you purchase an external wireless card for your laptop, it is recommended you purchase an 802.11g standard card.
  

• Monitor/Screen: The size of the screen is a personal preference. Remember that the bigger the screen is, the heavier the laptop becomes.
  

• Battery: You may consider getting an extended life battery. A long lasting battery may allow you to leave the charger at home. During exams, however, always bring your charger.