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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS -- LAPTOP REFRESH

Please check this web site first, as it will continue to be updated.
You may also send question to the Laptop Refresh Committee.

General Questions
Vendor Questions
1. What laptop vendors will we be using?
2. Will one vendor be chosen for the Windows laptop and the Tablet PC?
Models / Specs / Technical Questions
Old Laptops and Other Computers
Deployment of new laptops
1. When will the first laptops hit the campus?
2. How will I get my stuff moved from my current laptop to the new laptop?
1. General Questions
  1. What happens if a current faculty laptop Apple or Dell breaks before it is replaced and it is out of warranty?
    
    The warranty for the Dell laptops has been extended for one year.
    
    If an Apple computer breaks before the new laptops are distributed, ITS will use parts from the repair spare pool to fix the computer. After the distribution starts, some of the collected Apple laptops will be used as a parts pool. If one of the Apple computers breaks after the warranty expires, it will be fixed by using parts from the parts pool.
  2. What criteria will be used to decide who will be getting the new laptops?
    
    All full-time employees whose primary function is teaching is scheduled to receive laptops. These individuals are classified (but not limited to) full-time faculty, temporary full-time faculty (instructors, visiting professors, etc). Administrators and librarians classified as faculty will receive a laptop as part of this refresh initiative. Individuals who do not receive a new laptop will be able to keep their old laptops.
  3. Will all the faculty laptops be replaced?
    
    Only full-time employees classified as faculty will receive a new laptop this summer.
  4. Will I be able to keep my desktop machine also?
    
    That will be up to the department and is not part of this committee’s purview.
2. Vendor Questions
  1. What laptop vendors will we be using?
    
    The laptop committee requested bids from Tier I vendors (per defined by the Gartner Group) for stability and standardization. Those vendors were Dell, Hewlett Packard, and Lenovo. Apple will also be included in the bid process.
    
    The laptop bid was awarded to: Dell for the Windows laptops, Hewlett Packard for the tablet laptops, and Apple for the Apple laptops.
  2. Will one vendor be chosen for the Windows laptop and the Tablet PC?
    
    Based on the bid process, two different vendors were selected: Dell (laptops) and HP (tablet PC).
3. Models / Specs / Technical Questions
  1. What models will we choose from?
    
    There will be a Windows laptop, an Apple laptop, and a convertible tablet to select from. The committee defined specs can be found at http://www.uakron.edu/its/laptop_refresh_specs.php. As you will notice, there is no high-end model for the Windows laptop or Tablet PC. The committee felt the configuration was robust enough so that a high-end model was not required.
  2. What are the upgrade options?
    
    Due to the robustness of the standard models, no upgrade options are offered. Any upgrade options over and above the recommended configuration, can be added after the distributions and will be paid for by the requesting department.
  3. Will my current Dell docking station/port replicator work with the new laptop?
    
    The new Dell laptops (D630) will use the same docking station/port replicator as the existing Dell D600/D6110/D620, D800/D810/D820 laptops.
    
    The Dell port replicator will not work with the Hewlett Packard tablet PC. Apple does not have a port replicator.
  4. If we change manufacturers, who will pay for my new docking station and extra power adapters?
    
    The budget for the laptop refresh project is still being defined. Whether the cost of the peripherals must come out of the laptop dollars is yet to be determined. When this is decided, the answer will be published.
4. Old Laptops and Other Computers
  1. Who will get my old laptop?
    
    The Computing and Communication Technology Committee (CCTC) has presented the argument that since the laptops have been paid out of student technology fees, many of them should be used to increase the number of laptops in the student checkout pool and to replace the old IBM laptops. The laptop committee agrees with this recommendation. Due to the large number of laptops that will be collected the committee has also recommended that a portion of the laptops be used as a parts inventory, for the creation of a loaner pool for faculty and staff, designation for graduate assistants, visiting faculty, and part time faculty. A portion of the collected laptops should be used to replace Pentium I, II, or III desktop computers in staff offices. Lastly, a portion of the laptops maybe offered back to the academic departments.
  2. Will I personally be able to purchase my old laptop?
    
    No, that is not an option. In order to be sold the computer must become surplus property, where it cannot be used elsewhere on campus. The Dell and Apple laptops are still useful devices and are better than many desktops on campus.
  3. If I get a new laptop, may I keep my old laptop?
    
    No. If you receive a new laptop, you must turn in your old laptop.
  4. Can the department purchase its old laptops?
    
    That may not be necessary. After the recommended redeployments have been made, there may be several laptops that can be redeployed to the departments. If so, the committee has recommended that these requests would be made and presented via a time dependent, justifiable special request received by the IT responsible support/distribution group. As details of this process is defined it will be published. This will not happen until the end of the new laptop distribution process.
5. Deployment
  1. When will the first laptops hit the campus?
    
    The RFP was sent to the vendors at the end of April. The Laptop refresh project was approved by the Board of Trustees during its the June 13, 2007 board meeting. The purchase orders will be issued as soon as the quantity of the various models is determined. Expected distribution will start the middle to late July.
  2. How will I get my stuff moved from my current laptop to the new laptop?
    
    The laptops will be deployed in much the same manner as the last laptop deployment. The choice of how your data gets moved to the new laptop will be yours. If you feel you can move the data yourself, you will be allowed to do that. You will have one week to complete the task and return the old laptop to ITS (location to be determined). If your department has it owns IT technician, you may request that they also move your data from the old laptop to the new laptop. OR You may request that ITS move your data from the old laptop to the new laptop.