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Computer Information


We receive many questions at this time of year about computers--particularly what kind we recommend.
Please be advised that students attending the regional campus in Boca Raton will receive laptops at orientation/registration and do not need to purchase their own.
At any rate, next are some guidelines provided by the Office of Biomedical Computing of the Division of Medical Education.
Fundamentally, we require only that you have access to a computer and to the Internet. Computers with Internet access are available on the medical campus; however, these machines are limited and will be shared with all students. Although we do not require that you own a computer, most students find that owning their own computer is a real advantage. In general, a laptop is preferred to a desktop model simply because of portability. Don't forget, all of your class assignments, class notes, and even streaming videos of your lectures are available via the Wireless Internet on the medical campus, as well as some available wired access locations. Many students bring their laptops to school in order to download information or take notes while they're in class. All curriculum material is also available at home for our students via just about any Internet connection.

If you already have a PC or are intent on buying one, it should meet the following minimum specifications:
  • 2.1 GHz+ processor
  • 1-2 GB RAM
  • 120 GB Hard Drive
  • Combo Drive (DVD-ROM/DVD-RW)
  • Microsoft Windows XP or Vista operating system
  • Microsoft Office 2003 Professional Edition or newer (provided for you, see below)
  • 10/100 MBS Ethernet Network Built-in or PC Card
  • 802.11b/g Wireless Network Built-in or PC Card


If you already have a MAC or are intent on buying one, it should meet the following minimum specifications:
  • 2.1 GHz+ processor (we reccomended Intel platform Macs)
  • 1-2 GB RAM
  • 120 GB Hard Drive
  • Combo Drive (DVD-ROM/DVD-RW)
  • Mac OSX 10.4 Tiger or better
  • Microsoft Office for Mac (provided for you, see below)
  • 10/100 MBS Ethernet Network Built-in
  • Airport 802.11b/g-n Card


Note to Laptop Buyers:
If you do intend to buy a laptop, realize that weight can be a real issue when you are carrying your laptop with you all around campus. Although you may get an amazing number of features in some laptops, they usually come at the cost of added laptop weight and shortened battery life. If you are leaning towards investing in a laptop that is heavy and feature-rich, consider buying a good desktop machine instead; you can usually get more machine for less money that way. Some of our students that have invested in heavier models--as heavy as 10 lbs.--find themselves leaving their laptops at home, effectively as desktops. This note is here to make you consider the weight of the laptop seriously before you purchase.

USB Memory Stick Note:
Regardless of whether you own or purchase a PC/MAC of your own, we strongly recommend (bordering on a requirement) that all students arrive with a USB memory stick of 1GB or larger. These devices are immensely useful for storing files and transporting files between machines. Floppy diskettes are flimsy, have small file capacities, are prone to data corruption, and very few machines on campus have them any longer. Many machines around campus lack CD-RW drives; the USB memory stick will make your life much easier with regard to digital portability as all PCs on campus have USB ports.

Video iPods:
We are currently providing audio and video podcasts of our lectures to our students. We recommend Apple's Video iPod or an equivalent product for easy, portable viewing of these materials.

Antivirus and Antispyware Note:
Norton Antivirus and eTrust Pest Patrol (antispyware) are both available to our students free of charge once you have an account established on the Medical campus. Your Medical campus account credentials will be made available to you at Orientation.

Microsoft Windows updates and Office:
Microsoft Windows updates and Microsoft Office are available to our students free of charge once you have an account established on the Medical campus. (If you do not have Office yet, save your money and we can provided it for you.)

Academic Purchase:
The Technology Product Center has PCs, Macs and Microsoft Office products available at academic pricing for our students. Please visit http://www.miami.edu/sales/ for more information.

Medical Information Technology on the Medical campus also provides similar services here.

Be sure to inquire about the Back To School Bundles available from both locations.

If we here at OBC find any other deals available through the University and its vendors, we will try to post relative information on on this page and have the Admissions Office notify you of the update.
Last modified: 15:39 06/30/2008


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