Kit college kids out with the computer gear they need .... and help them keep coursework safe

Yi Jone Li of Dove Computer Solutions, in Mayfield Road, has some tips for equipping students for the new academic year

IT’S been a long, hot summer as Girls Aloud would say. But it’s time to start thinking about the back-to-school haul.

Every year it’s a new uniform, new shoes, new books and so on and so forth, but what about for the “kids” starting university this September? There’s a fair few extra costs to consider there.

One absolute essential before starting university or year full of studying and exams is to ensure your child’s productivity with an efficient, equipped laptop.

The likelihood is 90% of you have a child now saying they absolutely, positively MUST have an Apple Macbook or they categorically cannot do their coursework or revision.

I’m sure you’ve already twigged it, but that isn’t the case.

Whilst an Apple Macbook (Air, Pro or Original) is an incredible device and would easily see your undergrad through to their graduation – the sheer price of them is enough to make your jaw drop to the floor.

There are plenty of alternatives that look “cool”, won’t break your bank and do the job quite nicely.

We recommend any laptop that has a good storage (above 4GB RAM and above 32GB storage), a decent processor (look more at a 7th gen i3/i5 where you can) and something with a very good battery life for a student.

If in doubt, please feel free to get in touch and request a quote on a laptop we can supply you with.

Unfortunately, simply giving your budding student a laptop is not enough to keep their productivity up – that’s something the tutors will have to work on.

Their coursework and online security, however, is something we can help with.

Everyone, at some time in their life, will click on a dodgy link.

It could be to get an unreal discount on a pair of trainers, to read up on the latest celebrity scandal you’ve never heard of, to win £100,000 in seconds, or even just an accidental click. The fact is, we all will do it. And it’s nothing to be ashamed of.

But it’s what happens afterwards that can cause some issues.

So that’s the next step... anti-virus.

At Dove Computer Solutions, we see our fair share of viruses, malware and trojans. But perhaps the biggest point I must stress, is that no two people that suffer a computer virus are the same.

Viruses affect people of all ages, any gender, any ethnicity – any person from any walk of life can be vulnerable.

The much-believed stigma of the elderly being most susceptible just is not the case. It affects EVERYONE. One in every 10 computers will become infected by a virus every month.

A virus can be as simple as a few pop-ups on your web browser from clicking the wrong link, to someone remotely taking control of your device, blocking your access and changing your passwords. It all counts and it’s all dangerous. We cannot stress how important installing an appropriate and well-respected anti-virus programme on any laptop or desktop is.

We as a company recommend Bitdefender after having trialled other alternatives. We find this is the most secure and most effective on the market right now.

So, you’ve protected your up-andcoming scholar’s laptop from viruses – what happens if during Freshers Week a fellow student spills orange juice (definitely, orange juice!) on their brand spanking new laptop.

Or if while on the school bus, half asleep and doing their last-minute maths homework, they leave the laptop on the seat?

All that hard work and effort is gone in an instant. And while we and other companies can try to retrieve the data from a damaged device, it’s not always possible.

So that’s the final preparation step – back up.

You will never regret having a backup of your data, but I’d bet good money that you’d regret not having one.

An unfortunate and annoying fact is that technology isn’t forever. No matter how many new machines these tech giants churn out, not one of them has a lifetime guarantee.

In fact, many of these devices have a purposeful, built-in obsolescence that tends to give them a five to seven year life span before the problems start to kick in. The scary thing is, 30% of the population have never backed up their data.

A lot of people think to back up their treasured memories and photographs but often forget the important documents, such as coursework, revision notes or the ever-daunting dissertation.

There are several back-up solutions available;

USB stick – Though there may be companies saying otherwise, most memory sticks only venture up to about 16GB. So, while they’re not ideal for saving photographs to, they’re perfect for saving important documents.

That being said, their small size means they can be easy to misplace, so they perhaps aren’t the best option for the less organised students.

External hard drives – These can hold anything up to 2TB plus, meaning the available space for data can be massive. For this reason, external hard drives are often used to do full computer backups on a regular basis.

For a student these can be a little pricey, though they’re nothing in comparison to paying for data recovery. Their size means they’re not easy to lose or misplace and they get the job done.

We have seen instances of external hard drives and memory sticks failing, but they tend to be a fair few years of age before this happens.

Cloud Storage – We all hear about the cloud. This mystical storage facility you can’t see but can access via the internet.

Cloud storage is rapidly gaining an audience, as it allows you to store limitless amounts of data – for a price of course.

Most Cloud storage suppliers have a monthly subscription cost for using them. For example the Apple icloud gives 5GB for free before charging 79p per month for up to 50GB and £2.99 a month for up to 200GB.3

Google Drive gives a free 15GB per account and then charges £1.59 per month for up to 100GB and so on.

These are perhaps the most popular cloud storage options, but there are several available all with differing price plans.

You essentially create an account and password (which you cannot lose) and upload/download the backed-up content to your heart’s content. The only downside is the lack of access if your internet goes down – so we recommend for really important data, such as coursework or dissertations, that they’re stored on a physical and online storage solution.

Once you’ve got this down, you’re ready to let your little bird fly the nest… in the technical world. They may still need a few cooking lessons and some finance advice!

All products and solutions listed are available for purchase or order at Dove Computer Solutions Ltd, Ashbourne. If you would like to make an order visit us in store or call 01335 81 80 81.

The scary thing is that 30% of the population have never backed up their data.

St Oswald’s Church and the telecommunications mast at the top of Old Derby Road are among the prominent features in this aerial shot to the west of Ashbourne, by Robin Macey. Robin is a member of Nottingham and Derby Hot Air Balloon Club. To find out more about the club, call 0115 854 1028 or visit www.ndhabc.org.uk