Support

How will the College support the use of laptops?

The College will provide all of the service necessary to support learning, communication and collaboration. Full time technicians are available to assist students with any tech requirements which include : advice relating to the use of included software packages, troubleshooting local account and operating system issues, backing up of files, accessing the Intranet and Internet, printing etc.
The College will also provide servers and systems for the management of email, data storage, printers, copiers and scanners, online resources and secure access to the internet.

What if a laptop is damaged, lost or stolen ?

This is always a possibility. However, the fee for a laptop will include insurance. Insurance will cover the laptop from all non-warrantable damage, loss or theft at school, home or in transit. There will be an insurance excess fee, details of this will be available at a later date. The insurance will not cover theft if the laptop is left unprotected in plain sight or wilfull damage.

What is the AppleCare Protection Plan ?

The AppleCare Protection Plan is a uniquely integrated service and support solution that extends the complimentary coverage on your Mac to three years from the computer’s purchase date. This comprehensive plan includes expert telephone technical support, global repair coverage, web-based support resources, and powerful diagnostic tools.

What if something goes wrong with the laptop?

Although the MacBook is robust and reliable, the reality is that sometime things will go wrong. All laptops are covered by a three year warranty. Any hardware fault is covered under this warranty. More importantly, the College will maintain a bank of spare laptops that will be swapped in and out of service when a computer requires a repair. This means that a student will have access to a computer at all times—even if their own computer has a hardware fault that needs to be repaired.

What if the data is lost?

This is a bit like a student losing their bag and all of their school books. The advantage of a laptop program is that all of the data on a laptop can be backed up. The College will teach and support students with the process of backing up and help them develop good habits in this area. Backing up is made easy through the use of USB memory stick or USB hard disk drive. The USB stick is currently on the College's booklist.

The MacBook's operating system includes an excellent automated back-up system called Time Machine. Time Machine automatically backs up data each time the memory stick or hard drive is connected. The College's ICT Services Department can use these devices to recover any lost data right up until the point in time the malfunction occurred or the data was lost. Students will also be able to back-up important data to a folder on the network.