UC Law does not require students to purchase computers for use in the study of law. The Law Library, which administers information technology systems and services for students, faculty and staff at the College, has two computing labs with thirty-five computers reserved exclusively for UC Law student use. Desktop applications on all lab computers include the Microsoft Office suite, Corel WordPerfect, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Internet Explorer, and others.

We have expanded wireless access to the UC Law network throughout the building to classrooms, the Law Library, and social spaces. To connect to the network, you must have a wireless network card in your laptop. Most fairly current laptops, PCs or Macs, can be set up to access networked resources such as e-mail, research databases, the online catalog (UCLID), the Internet, and high-speed network printers located in the computer labs. If you do not have a built-in wireless card, network cards compatible with our wireless standard are available at most computer stores, including the on the UC campus. The Law Library Systems staff will help you configure the necessary software once the semester begins.

Questions? Contact John Hopkins, Associate Director for Information Technology:
john.hopkins@uc.edu or (513)-556-0153

If you do plan to purchase a laptop, we hope the guidelines below help you select a system that meets the baseline specifications we recommend for law student use. In addition, you may wish to explore the wide array of Microsoft products (such as Office) available to all UC students for a nominal cost. Visit the UC Information Technologies (UCit) website at http://mscontract.uc.edu/ for more information.

Laptop Specs

Type/Brand

Major Vendors (e.g., Dell, Toshiba, Lenovo )

The College of Law is primarily a PC environment, but most newer Apple laptops running Mac OS X 10.4 or better will work with the UC Law network, networked resources, and exam software.

Hard Drive

80 GB

Memory

1 GB XP / 2GB Vista

Processor

Intel Core 2.Duo 1.66 GHz

Optical Drive

DVD/CD-RW

Video RAM

256MB for Vista Aero interfaces; less for XP

Monitor

14.1 Inch

Operating System

Windows XP Professional or Vista Business or Ultimate

Windows XP Professional provides easier access to network storage and printers than does the home version XP. Likewise, Vista Business and Ultimate editions should provide better compatibility than Vista Home Basic edition. Be aware that Vista Business does not provide many of the Home edition media center functions, so if this is important to you, it would probably be best to purchase Vista Ultimate. At this time, we have no information as to how Vista Home Premium edition will perform on our network.

Wireless Network Card

802.11b/g (integrated or external) with 128 bit encryption. More information.

Warranty

3 years

Programs such as Dell's CompleteCare Accidental Damage Service may be worth the extra investment, as they will replace computer parts damaged by spills, drops, surges or breakage.