| Netbook Recommendation and Support
 Netbooks are very small, lightweight and portable computers. Because they are designed for people on-the-go, Netbooks have limited CPU power and memory, which helps extend battery life and reduces heat output. They are great for traveling and enable you to surf the web, check web mail, and update your Facebook account at a local coffee shop. Netbooks have small screens and keyboards, and users typically do not use them for extended periods of time. Netbooks are good for limited network activities such as web browsing and email, and possibly some word processing (though the effectiveness of Netbooks as word processing devices is questionable depending on who you talk to; the word "squint" comes to mind). Netbooks are not full laptop replacements. It would not be practical to install statistical analysis software, video editing software, or other CPU intensive applications on a Netbook. There are many brands, shapes, sizes and colors of Netbooks, each of which has a unique set of features, options, and support services.
 Because the Education IT Team manages hundreds of computers we have, by necessity, standardized our Netbook support services around a single Netbook vendor: Dell. This enables us to provide fast and efficient service to a large number of computers with a small staff. Purdue University has an established relationship with Dell and members of the Education IT team are certified Dell support specialists. This means that we can obtain very fast support response from Dell when a Dell computer needs warranty parts and service.
The Education IT team recommends and supports Dell Netbooks because we have determined that Dell Netbooks have a core set of features that users need including: size, weight, battery life, external connectors, colors, and support options. Specifically we are recommending the Dell Latitude 2100 Netbook series. The yellow netbook photos on this page show the Education IT team Dell 2100 netbook; stop by and take it for a test drive. The price for a Dell 2100 starts at around $399.00 (with 1 year warranty!). Click here for the Latitude 2100 info page from Dell.
 Our level of support for Dell Netbooks is:
- We will install basic anti-virus and office productivity software on the Dell Netbook when it arrives
- We will contact Dell for warranty replacement/parts, if needed, while the computer is under warranty
- If operating system software or application software should fail, we will re-image the Dell Netbook to its original functional state
- No other support is offered for Netbooks:users will be responsible for installing Windows updates, anti-virus updates, and backing up data
If users would like to purchase a non-Dell Netbook, they are welcome to do so. However, Education IT is unable to provide technical support for non-Dell Netbooks beyond initially installing anti-virus and office software. Users of non-Dell Netbooks will need to obtain warranty support and troubleshooting through their vendor’s established online and phone support mechanism. Please contact EdIT with serial and model numbers of your Netbook so we can track them in our database in case of a lost or stolen device.
If you have questions about Netbooks, please feel free to contact the Education IT team. Thank you and happy portable computing! :-)
--Education IT, edit@purdue.edu
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Robert Evans
Director, Office of IT
Managing Director, TRC
bob@purdue.edu
(765) 496-1819
Mike Eldridge
Coordinator of Distance
Education and User Services
eldridge@purdue.edu
(765) 49-40944
Wesley Shoop
Site Specialist, User Services
shoopw@purdue.edu
(765) 49-42658
Alex Noguera
Site Specialist, User Services
anoguera@purdue.edu
(765) 49-42659
Brenda Hash
Clerk,
Technology Resources Center
trc@purdue.edu
(765) 49-45677
Karen Hearn
Clerk,
Technology Resources Center
trc@purdue.edu
(765) 49-45677
Doc Vinh
E-Portfolio Coordinator
edit@purdue.edu
(765) 49-43416
Ayesha Sadaf
Webmaster,
edit@purdue.edu
(765) 49-67323
Yun Ge
Graduate Programmer,
Administrative Databases
edit@purdue.edu
(765) 49-43416
Education IT Phone: (765) 49-42658
TRC Phone:
(765) 49-45677
TRC Web Site:
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