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Technology Guidelines

[ Hardware | Software | Internet Access ]

The MIT Lab within the Department of Information Studies offers computing resources to support the curriculum while you are enrolled as a student.  Many incoming students have asked us to provide guidelines for purchasing a personal computer when they enter the program.  While we cannot recommend specific models, we have come up with the following information to help you choose a computer. By knowing some of the resources we provide, you may be able to make a better judgement of what you will need a personal machine to do. Please note that the MIT Lab cannot provide any level of support to you for your personal computer and/or the software installed on it.

While the Lab does offer a limited amount of Mac support, the majority of workstations are Windows based computers.  These machines are universally outfitted with the following hardware and software:

  • DVD-ROM/CD-RW units. (Most machines have DVD+RW capability)
  • Some higher end workstations have scanners and video editing equipment.
  • Microsoft Office 2007 Suite
  • Seamonkey (Web browser)
  • Dreamweaver CS3
  • Photoshop CS3
  • Illustrator

Your computing needs will vary greatly depending on your area of specialization and the courses you take.  As such, you will need to factor this into any decision.  Someone who wants to become an archivist will have different needs than someone specializing in infomatics. Most of your work on your computer at home (at least during your time in the program) would probably consist of mainly word processing and Internet access (for email, research, etc). 

Hardware Information

Any computer purchased today should be more than powerful enough to do these basic tasks. As a rough baseline for a PC that will last a few years:

  • For desktops, Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon X2 processor (avoid Celeron machines unless cost is an absolutely critical factor, or a laptop). Dual core processors can help with heavy multitasking (running many "large" applications, such as Dreamweaver and Photoshop), most modern PCs use these processors except very low end models. Some higher end machines have been introduced with "quad core" processors, basically 4 processors.
  • For laptops, Pentium Dual Core (as a base model - Core 2 Duo is faster) or Athlon Turion X2 . At least 1gb of RAM, 2gb is a good target
  • 100gb hard drive
  • Windows XP. (Avoid Windows 98/ME based systems, as they are quite possibly running on very obsolete hardware; Windows Vista has a number of performance and stability issues at this time and might be a good idea to avoid if possible. If you do buy a machine with Vista, consider getting a faster processor and more RAM to counteract performance problems.)

If you prefer Apple Macintosh machines, there are only a few models available for purchase at any given time, due to Apple controlling hardware sales.  That said, any current Intel-based Macintosh, and most G5s, will be more than enough to do most course work.  G3/G4 based machines will probably be adequate for most work, although they are starting to show their age and may not run the most recent versions of software acceptably.

For any purchase, if your budget allows, you should always get as much memory and hard drive space as possible.  You should get the fastest hard drive possible, as well (at least 7200rpm, some higher end machines allow 10000rpm or 15000rpm drives).  Processor speed is a nice thing to increase, but most people will “feel” the biggest difference with a faster hard drive and more memory. The exception is a "dual-core" processor, which is basically 2 processors in one package. They will allow you to do multiple things at once without as much speed penalty as a single core. If you are the type of person who has Word, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Mozilla, and a streaming radio station up and running at all times, dual-core would help performance significantly, even if the clock speed appears to be slightly slower.

If you are considering a laptop so that you could bring it with you, keep in mind that the Lab does not have extra ethernet ports. You will not be able to connect your laptop and have Internet access.  A growing portion of the UCLA campus is covered by a wireless network, which includes the GSE&IS Building. You should have wireless Internet access in the building, but you will NOT be able to access to your local server storage space. Also, due to their portable nature, laptops are more susceptible to damage (by being dropped, bumped into something) and as such you should definitely consider an extended warranty that covers accidental damage.

Software Information

As a student at UCLA, you have many options for software. The UCLA Computer Store in the Ackerman Student Union provides excellent academic discounts on much software. They also have fairly good prices on Apple hardware. Keep in mind, also, that many expensive software packages have open-source (read: free!) alternatives. While they may not have every feature of commercial packages, they may provide you with enough functionality to get your work done. Some software you may wish to examine (All are available for both Windows and Mac computers. This list is provided for your information and should not be considered an endorsement of one product over another):

  • OpenOffice (Office productivity suite: word processing, spreadsheet, presentations)
  • Seamonkey (web browsing suite: browser, email, basic web design-- related to Firefox, uses an older code base and may be more stable, but less "cutting edge"))
  • Firefox / Thunderbird (browser-only and mail-only products from the Mozilla Project)
  • The Gimp (photo/image manipulation)

Also, Bruin Online has software available for any UCLA student to download (virus protection and internet tools). You must either download from a computer dialed in to Bruin Online, use the proxy server/VPN, or downloading the software on a machine on campus at UCLA and save to a CD/Zip disc/USB key and take it home. Some of the software includes the Eudora email package, and Sophos anti-virus package. You are strongly encouraged to download the Sophos anti-virus package and install it immediately! (if you already have an up-to-date anti-virus program, it is not necessary, but be sure it is properly updating itself) You should only have ONE anti-virus package installed on your computer at any time.

Again, these options are provided for your information and the Lab is unable to assist you with the use or installation of any of these products. Bruin Online can provide support for software available on the Bruin Online server. That said, if you are feeling adventurous, these options provide an alternative to spending additional money to purchase software, and you can always buy software later if you evaluate the open-source products and decide they don't work well for you.

Internet Access / Access to Restricted UCLA Sites and Services

UCLA provides free Internet dial-up access for students, although the access numbers are only local to a fairly small area around campus (mostly in the 310 area code).  You are encouraged to visit the Bruin Online webpage at http://www.bol.ucla.edu for more information.

If you have your own Internet provider, you can still use it to access most of UCLA's resources. To access some restricted services (such as library databases) you may need to reconfigure your web browser to use the UCLA Proxy Server, or use the Virtual Private Networking software, both available from Bruin Online. You must have a Bruin Online account to use these services!

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Updated: 2/21/08

All materials copyright 2001 - 2008, UCLA GSE&IS Department of Information Studies.