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At Thomas College, the computer has become an important tool
in education. Since its first use, the computer has been
incorporated into much of the academic curriculum, as well as
into many administrative, research, and extra-curricular
activities.
Thomas College primarily uses one computing platform; Microsoft
Windows. Other computing platforms supported on a limited basis
include Mac OS and Linux systems. Almost all faculty and staff at
Thomas College use a Windows-based networked personal computer on a
daily basis. After
personal contact, electronic mail is the primary method of
communication for many of our students, faculty, and staff.
Computer access has become so important in the curriculum that
all students should seriously consider purchasing a portable
computer (examples include a laptop, notebook, or handheld). Portable
computers are recommended over desktop computers
because of their ability to be taken to the classroom, library, and student center as well as
used at your place of residence. All classrooms, the library, the student center, and residence
halls have electrical and physical or 802.11b/g wireless network ports available for student
computer use. Portable and desktop purchases, however, are not
required of our students. The College maintains three computer
labs and several PC clusters with over 137 PCs and windows-based terminals
for students.
The purpose of this document is to provide an overview of the
computing environment at Thomas College.
Thomas College's Academic
Computer Facilities
The College has several servers running the Windows 2003 R2 operating
system and one server running Linux.
Students have access to the servers from over 137 networked
personal computers and terminals on campus, personal computers in dormitory
rooms, college modems, or through any Internet provider. The
Windows servers each have 4Gb of RAM and
hundreds of Gb of on-line storage. Software available on the
servers includes MS Exchange for e-mail, instant messaging, and calendar use, MS SQL Server for database use, MS Internet
Information Server (IIS) for web server use, MS SharePoint Portal Server (SPS) for groups, e-portfolios, and web-storage, MS Office Live Communication Server (LCS) for secure IM and telephony, and MS Systems Management Server (SMS).
Each student is assigned an account on our server with access
to e-mail, the Internet, the Intranet, SharePoint, and the InfoNet. A second computer account is assigned for our Blackboard course management software.
A web-based student information system (InfoNet) provides access to class
schedules, student grades, student bills, and other information.
Internet access is provided through a T3 line to the
Internet backbone. The computer labs at Thomas are comprised of Pentium IV PCs. Students have access to laser and color inkjet
printers. Other lab hardware includes presentation projectors, a scanner,
video cameras, DVD-RW/CD-RW and multimedia
equipment, and networking equipment. Software available
involves many MS Windows Vista based packages
including Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office 2007 (Outlook, Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint), and many programming languages.
Computer facilities are staffed by 2 full-time staff, one part-time
hardware/software support staff person and 15 work-study students
including 13 Information Services Desk support staff, 1 I.S. Desk Supervisor, and 1 hardware/software support assistant. These
facilities are generally open Monday through Thursday from 7:45am to
11:00pm, Friday 7:45am to 4:30pm, Saturday 1:00pm to 5:00pm and Sunday 5:00pm to 11:00pm. Student access from off-campus is currently handled via any Internet
Service Provider (ISP). Direct network connections are
available to resident students using a 10/100 Ethernet network card and CAT 5 or higher cable. The GPH and Bartlett computer labs and clusters are
accessible 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.
Computer Recommendations
(For 2008/09) We recommend a Dell Latitude D630 notebook (laptop) computer*. Recommended notebook (laptop) specifications are below.
Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 2.5Ghz, 800Mhz 6M L2 Cache with 14.1 inch wide screen WXGA LCD display 2Gb RAM (1 DIMM - expandable to 4Gb) 120Gb 7200RPM hard drive no floppy drive 8x DVD+/-RW drive Dell 1395 (802.11g) WiFi/WPA wireless (built-in) 10/100/1000 wired network (built-in) modem (built-in) 9 cell battery (for longer charge) Nylon Backpack Case 4 year 7x24, on-site next business day warranty with 4 year Complete Care (accident insurance - for theft insurance, please add this to your homeowners policy)
The Thomas College recommended laptop above may be ordered at a discounted rate ($1,452 instead of $2,240) by clicking on the Dell logo below (in a few weeks) and choosing Start Shopping under the Recommended Notebook section. The software listed below will automatically be pre-installed for you for an even greater value. The software will be listed on your order as "CFI Image". The password to log in when you receive the D630 is "thomasadmin1" (no quotes).
Windows Vista Ultimate with Service Pack 1 Microsoft Office 2007 Enterprise (Word, Excel, Outlook,PowerPoint, Access, Publisher, OneNote, Groove) with Service Pack 1 Microsoft SharePoint Designer 2007 Microsoft Expression Studio Microsoft Media Player Microsoft Forefront Client Security Office Communicator Adobe Reader Roxio Creator and Cyberlink for Vista Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager and WSUS for automatic software updates
If you also want a desktop computer, we recommend the Dell Optiplex 755 with Vista Ultimate.
To visit the Dell Premier Portal for Thomas College students, faculty, and staff, click the Dell logo below, go to http://www.dell.com/thomas, or click here.
To compare Latitude notebooks to other models, click here.
For a list of software used at Thomas and how you can get it for free or a low price click here.
To help protect yourself against laptop theft, a service called Computrace can be purchased for $40-$80 per year. Many Dell and other laptops now include Computrace in the BIOS of the computer, so purchasing the service can be done anytime. Some versions of this service even provide $1,000 if the laptop is not recovered within 60 days (the typical deduction for homeowners insurance).
For more information, please contact Dell or your local computer reseller at any time.
* Elementary Education students may want to consider an Apple MacBook Pro computer to run both Windows and OS X. All Maine families can purchase Apple products at a discount through the Maine Parent Online store that is supported by out Maine Learning Technology Initiative Agreement with Apple. Also try the Apple Store for Education.
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