Technology Standards for the UF Network

1. Students, faculty and staff who wish to use the network, Blackboard, e-mail, online calendar services, World Wide Web, central computing resources and/or computer laboratories must read and accept the University's Acceptable Use Policy. Policy statements and procedures can be acquired from the open computer lab in Old Main 116, the ITS Department in Old Main 123 or online.

2. Currently registered students are permitted to connect their own computer to the campus wide network, provided they have completed the necessary paperwork to create and activate their UFnet account. The connection will not be activated until the UFnet Account Application has been submitted and processed (usually within one week).

For wired connectivity, the student’s computer must have an Ethernet network interface card (NIC) and network cable (Ethernet). For wireless connectivity, the student’s computer must have a wireless network card (802.11 b/g).

Please see the "How do I get wireless on campus?" for additional wireless hardware standards and connectivity requirements.

Installation instructions are available at Technology Request Live (TRL) – Open Arena (technology support provided to all students at the beginning of the academic year). After TRL – Open Arena support is available at Technology Support Services, 425 Frazer St.; ext. 4357.

3.Students taking online classes are required to have access to High-Speed Internet (no dial-up).

4. The following are the minimum and recommended configurations for both Windows-based and Macintosh personal computers. If the computer does not have at least the minimum configuration, it most likely will not successfully connect to the UF network.

Minimum Configurations for Windows-Based Personal Computers:

• Pentium 4, Pentium M or AMD equivalent
  
• 1 GB RAM
• Wired Ethernet adapter
• Windows XP SP*2

Recommended Configurations for Windows-Based Personal Computers:

• 2.0 GHz Core 2 Duo
  
• 2 GB RAM
• Wired Ethernet adapter
• Ethernet Cable (7' length)
• Windows XP SP*2 or Vista (any edition)
  
• Wireless 802.11b/g compatible (optional)

Minimum Configurations for Macintosh Personal Computers:

• G4 Processor
  
• 1 GB RAM
• Wired Ethernet adapter
• Mac OS System 10.4 or higher

Recommended Configurations for Macintosh Personal Computers:

• 2.0 Ghz Core 2 Duo
• 2 GB RAM
• Wired Ethernet adapter
• Ethernet Cable (7' length)
• Mac OS System 10.5
• Wireless 802.11b/g compatible (optional)

*SP denotes "Service Pack" which are updates available freely from Microsoft.

For wireless laptops (Windows or Macintosh) that meet the above minimum configurations, we also recommend wired capability for use in the residence halls.

Currently The University of Findlay uses Dell and Apple computers which students are eligible to purchase at special rates from these two companies.  We do NOT require that you purchase from either of these two companies but we do require that you follow the computer guidelines above  for your computer to work with our network.  Please see this page for more details.

Personal Computer Software

Except for the operating system software mentioned in the personal computer configurations above, there is no required application software. However, the University does use and support various Windows and Mac-based application packages. The most common application package used on our Windows-based personal computers is the Microsoft (MS) Office 2007 suite. This suite is also used in all of our introductory computer science courses. The Windows-based MS Office suite includes Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Outlook, Groove, InfoPath, OneNote and Publisher. The most common application package used on our Macintosh computers is Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac. This package includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Entourage and MSN Messenger.

The University of Findlay suggests students acquire the Microsoft software through our Microsoft Campus Agreement at a greatly reduced cost. This software may be purchased at The University Bookstore during normal hours.

In addition to offering Microsoft software at a discounted rate The University of Findlay supplies all students running Windows XP and Windows Vista with Anti-Virus from Symantec Corp (makers of Norton Anti-Virus).  Once students have their UFnet account they can download and install the software here.