Correspondence: Official IT Requirements

Queen's replied to my e-mail inquiring about IT requirements and the delay in the web portal being opened up. The web portal is expected to be up and running by the end of this week. They also sent me the official IT requirements for the Full-Time MBA Program for the Class of 2009. Below is what they sent me.

Notebook Computer Requirements
A notebook computer is a requirement for the duration of your Queen’s MBA program. The attached table (edited into a bullet form list for this blog posting) outlines the minimum requirements for any notebook that you wish to use and also outlines the minimum specifications you should be seeking should you need to purchase a notebook.

If you plan to bring to the Program a notebook computer that you already own, not only should it meet our minimum specifications, but you should ensure that it can be serviced conveniently and quickly in Kingston. Nationally-known brands such as Dell, Lenovo and Toshiba HP should present no problem but it may be difficult to find service for lesser-known systems. You would be well advised to purchase extended warranty coverage for the duration of the program to avoid any unpleasant surprises. It is also wise to ensure that you have a copy of the original invoice should warranty service be required.

Queen’s School of Business Technology Helpdesk stands ready to assist you in any way possible with regards to any computer-related problems or issues that may arise throughout your studies. Our specialists are available from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm Monday to Friday to help you with any of your computer-related needs for your various courses. Service is available by phone, email, website, walk-in or even team-room visits. We will act as a “first contact” point in troubleshooting system problems, providing simple diagnostic procedures and possible suggestions toward the fastest possible resolution. Should it be necessary to contact your vendor or manufacturer we can direct you to your nearest service depot as well as provide you, when possible, with the appropriate phone number or web address.

Should your notebook computer require service we maintain a limited stock of notebook computers that are available to you for short-term loan.

Our helpdesk staff members are fully trained in all of the software applications required for your studies including Microsoft Office applications, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Norton Antivirus, and Lotus Notes/Domino applications. We support Windows Vista and Windows XP Professional/Home operating systems. Unfortunately there is no support for MAC OS. We cannot guarantee full functionality of MAC computers with the Queen’s MBA portal or Domino-based email and collaboration services.

We will do our very best to relieve you of any worries or concerns surrounding the technological component of Queen’s MBA program allowing you to remain focused on the course material.

Minimum Notebook requirements

If you have purchased a computer within the last year or two then you can pretty much be guaranteed that it will meet at least the very minimum requirements for the Queen’s MBA Program.

The following chart will give you an idea of what specs to look for when evaluating either your current notebook computer or purchasing a new one. Although Microsoft has minimum requirements both for their Windows operating systems and Microsoft Office suites, you would do well with at least meeting if not exceeding the recommended requirements. The main concern for the purposes of the Program is that your system runs well with the following:

• Internet Explorer 6 or 7
• MS Office Pro 2007 (which will be supplied to you)
• Windows XP Home or Pro or Windows Vista

To achieve this we would suggest at least the following computer
Configuration

• Processor of at least 1GHz
• 1GB of RAM memory (2GB if running VISTA)
• A hard disk with at least 10GB of free space
• Video of at least an XGA resolution (1024 x 768) and 256MB of video
memory if running VISTA

If you have any questions or concerns regarding either your current notebook computer or wish advice on purchasing a new system please do not hesitate to contact the QSB Technology Helpdesk.

1.866.622.2667
helpdesk@business.queensu.ca

(Attached table edited into a bullet point list shown below to facilitate posting)

Feature: Processor

• Minimum: 1 GHz
• Recommended: 1.8GHz or better
• Comments: The processor is the "engine" of the computer. Intel has three types of processors currently available, The Celeron, the Pentium M or Centrino and the newly released “Core Duo”. The larger the
  number (GHz), the faster the processor within each specific type. Choose the Celeron if there are budgetary concerns. If your interests tend to anything involving multimedia applications, web authoring, games etc. then the Pentium M or Core Duo would be better suited. They offer faster processing technology and allow for much longer battery life in a smaller, lighter package.

Feature: Hard Drive

• Minimum/Recommended: 20 GB AVAILABLE FREE SPACE
• Comments: Hard drives currently range anywhere from 40GB to 160GB in size. You should have available for the Program at least 10GB of free space to be devoted solely for program purposes. Generally a 40GB drive is more than enough for general applications but if you do wish to save any type of multimedia files then the larger the drive the better. The cost between an 80GB drive and a 100GB or 160GB drive is not significant when compared to the overall cost of the system.
  

Feature: Memory

• Minimum: 1GB
• Recommended: 2GB
• Comments: Memory (or RAM) is very important in determining system performance. The more memory, the better the performance. Memory allows you to have multiple applications open concurrently and reduces the frequency that the system needs to access the hard drive. Again, as memory is fairly inexpensive at the moment, seriously consider going with at least 1GB. Microsoft recommends a minimum of at least 512MB for its soon-to-be released Vista operating system but advises 1GB and even 2GB is preferable.
  

Feature: Screen

• Minimum: Your Preference
• Recommended: 14” ACTIVE (TFT)
• Comments: As the user interface with the computer, this choice is critical to a user's satisfaction, and long with processor speed is a major determining factor in the cost of the notebook. Screen sizes range from 12.1” to 17”, but sometimes it is difficult to find cases for notebooks with larger screens and they are relatively heavy and fairly power intensive limiting battery life.

Feature: CD ROM

• Minimum: DVD/CD-RW
• Recommended: DVD-RW
• Comments: Traditionally the CD ROM was solely used to load programs, the higher the speed, the faster the load time. Now there are options to include DVD players (Digital Versatile Disk) or CD-RW's (CD riters or "burners"). A DVD allows you to play DVD movies and software on your computer or TV (with the necessary connections). A CD-RW or DVD-RW will allow you to save large amounts of data (700MB-7GB) to a CD or DVD for back-up in addition to creating music CD's or photo albums etc.
  

Feature: Portable Storage

• Minimum: 1GB Memory Key
• Recommended: 4GB Memory Key
• Comments: The traditional 3.5" floppy is largely not available any longer on new computer systems. Many will find the very economically priced USB memory keys much more convenient with far greater capacity for storing and sharing files. They are useful for backing up information and for porting presentations to other computers.

Feature : Modem

• Minimum/Recommended: 56Kbps V.92
• Comments: Most modems are internal in notebooks and are included as a standard component. This is the fastest connection you can achieve on a regular dial-up connection and is necessary if you do not have an Internet connection using DSL (eg. Sympatico) or cable. It is also required if you are traveling for use in hotel rooms where high speed is not available.
  

Feature: Ethernet

• Minimum: 10/100 BASE-T PCMCIA
• Recommended: 10/100/1000 BASE-T Internal
• Comments: Also known as a NIC (network interface card) and is standard on all, but the most very basic systems. It allows connection to corporate networks as well as DSL and cable modem connections.
  

Feature: Wireless LAN

• Minimum: IEEE 802.11b
• Recommended: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g
• Comments: Queen’s School of Business in Goodes Hall offers a wireless Local Area Network as a supplement to the wired Ethernet. Wireless LAN capability is commonly offered as a standard feature on current notebook computers. If your notebook does not have built-in wireless then a wireless PCMCIA card can be added to most notebook computers.
  

Software: Operating System

• Minimum/Recommended: Windows XP Home , Professional or VISTA
• Comments: Keep in mind that if you intend on using your notebook in a corporate environment Windows XP Home edition does not allow connecting to a domain and therefore you will not be able to join the company network.
  

Software: Office Suite

• Minimum/Recommended: Office 2007 Professional (Supplied free of charge by Queen’s)

Software: Web Browser

• Minimum/Recommended: Internet Explorer 6 or higher

Software: Viewer

• Minimum/Recommended: Adobe Reader 8 (Supplied via free download through Queen’s)

Software: AntiVirus

• Minimum/Recommended: Symantec AntiVirus (Supplied free via Queen’s Packman)

(Note: After the first MBA821 Finance Fundamental class in late August we discovered a financial calculator is a requirement for this course. The professor recommends the Texas Instruments BA II Plus since it is the one he is familar with and can assist the students with using it, but any financial calculator will do.)

(Update: Checkout what the requirements are on this Queen's 2010 Candidate's blog)