Should I or shouldn’t I...that is the question. Should I shut my computer down at the end of the work day, or should I leave it on? With earlier models, turning computers off and on was stressful to some of its components. It was better to just leave them on. Not so anymore. With improvements made to monitors and computers’ system boards, it no longer causes the computer stress when turning it off and on. It is now beneficial in more ways than one to turn your computer off when you leave for the day. Turning your system off not only saves energy, but computers generate heat while on, so turning them off when not in use will allow your work area’s central heating and cooling system to do its job more efficiently. Shutting your system down daily also clears anything stored in temporary memory. When temporary memory is not cleared regularly, it can negatively affect the speed at which your computer processes information. Also, leaving your machine off when not at work protects your computer from any unexpected electrical shocks or surges and provides some security. So, give your computer its needed down time and shut it off each day before you leave.

Thin Client technology can best be summarized as taking the computing horsepower requirements of your computer, and moving them back to the server. The power at the desktop is "thinned down" thus resulting in a Thin Client configuration vs. a Full Client configuration. Instead of having a CPU sitting next to you for running your software and saving your documents, these functions will be done from a central server. In today's environment, computers must be upgraded frequently to take advantage of the latest applications and operating systems. Purchasing new computers, deploying them, and maintaining the software and hardware is costly. High-performing desktops are needed because all the processing is accomplished on the desktop computer. This was very important in the days when networks were slow and unreliable, and servers/mainframes were expensive. Networks have come a long way and central computer costs have plummeted. Much money can be saved by moving the processing requirements back to a single server (or group of servers) in the computer room that are shared by many users. Without the need for high performance by the desktop, older computers can appear to run the latest applications with ease, software only has to be updated once at the server for all users to have it, & desktop repairs/visits are substantially reduced. Think of how much computing power a desktop has, and how little time you spend at the computer using it. And even when you are using it, you're using a small percentage of its ability. Sharing the power of the server across many users becomes a real saver. Other benefits are: - You can access "your desktop configuration" from any networked computer around the campus (and even on the Internet), because your unique desktop configuration is now located on the server. - Classrooms can share computing resources without the worry that the configuration for a specific class will be compromised. - Campus-wide application upgrades can now take places in days or perhaps hours, instead of weeks or months. - The life of a computer is significantly expanded, saving valuable funding for staff, faculty, and other uses. - Macs and PCs can live in harmony, because the server doesn't care what desktop device (within reason) is used by the end user. Disadvantages are: - If the network were to fail, access to files and software would be lost until the network is back online. - Mobile users with laptops would still require a "full client" configuration for when they are not connected to the network.

All staff and students of Lewis-Clark State College are eligible to receive a discount off of all Dell Computer orders. To get this discount visit the website www.dell.com/epp. The Member ID is ss23345157.

More Information:  www.dell.com/epp