Buying a Laptop

• The bundle is a one-stop purchase.  It will arrive with all software and settings required for the program pre-installed on your machine when you pick it up in August at the District Office.
• Experience in classrooms has led teachers to the conclusion that students who have an “AAAL Recommended Bundle” laptop have less downtime than do those students using laptops purchased outside the program. They experience fewer technical problems, and their problems are resolved much more quickly.
• It is priced extremely competitively. If you do careful comparison shopping, making sure to compare equivalent models that are not close-out or end-of-life models.  You are not likely to find better pricing when all components and features are included in your comparison.
• The bundle includes a variety of software applications pre-installed at no additional cost including:  Microsoft Vista Business; Microsoft  Office 2007 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, OneNote, Outlook, and Publisher); Adobe Premier Elements, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Adobe Contribute, and Adobe Acrobat Professional ; Vital Source Digital Text ; and Sophos Anti-Virus.
• The bundle pricing includes configuring the laptop to work in the classroom on the District’s wireless network. Parents purchasing laptops outside the program will be charged a $75 fee to have their student’s laptop configured to work on the CUSD network and have Trend Anti-Virus software installed.
• The bundle includes a three year parts and labor warranty as well as a three year “ThinkPad Protection” program providing for repair of damaged hardware as well as full support from the District tech staff. When AAAL bundles are purchased through LaptopSchools.com, the District can re-install software on those laptops for free, a service that most companies charge $95 or more per hour to perform.
• If your Thinkpad requires hardware support, you can take your machine to the District’s Certified IBM/Lenovo Warranty Repair Center adjacent to the District’s Warehouse where you will be given a loaner ThinkPad for your student to use while your student’s lapto is being repaired.

To Purchase an AAAL Bundle

Visit: www.laptopschools.com
Or Call: 866.708.2873 (CUSD)

Purchasing an AAAL Laptop Bundle

Here are the specifications for the approved and recommended ThinkPads from LaptopSchools.com. These “bundles” are designed to maximize student uptime and minimize teacher downtime. They include:

• Three year physical damage insurance with “ThinkPad Protection”
• Three year manufacturer warranty--carry-in repair service with District and loaner ThinkPad available for use during the repair cycle
• Microsoft (MS) Windows Vista Business (upgradeable to Vista Ultimate)
• MS Office 2007 Enterprise (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Publisher, and OneNote)
• Adobe Premiere Elements, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Adobe Contribute, and Adobe Acrobat Professional
• Vital Source Digital Text
• Custom Clovis USD image—ready to connect to school network
• Rapid Restore—the “one button” recovery method for the CUSD image
• Sophos Anti-Virus pre-installed and configured for automatic updates
• Includes the $75 certification and configuration fee

All ThinkPads will also include at least:
1 GB RAM; 120 GB hard drive; 14” anti-glare color display (12” for Tablet), internal 802.11 A/B/G wireless; 4+ hour battery life, CD Writer/DVD Writer

Purchasing a non-AAAL Bundle Laptop

If you choose not to purchase an AAAL bundle, you are required to pay a network configuration/anti-virus installation fee of $75 to configure the laptop for the CUSD network (this $75 fee is included with an AAAL bundle). In addition, CUSD will install Sophos Anti-virus protection software on all computers used in the AAAL program. Any anti-virus software that is already loaded on the computer at the time of network configuration will be uninstalled. This configuration will take place after school has started. Sites will notify parents of the times and dates of the Configuration Nights (usually held in the evening during the first two to four weeks of school). If your computer needs to be re-configured, you will have to pay the configuration fee each time.

To be used in the AAAL program, a laptop must meet the following minimum requirements:
Please note that these are the “Minimum Requirements” for inclusion and do not represent the specifications for the new “Recommended Bundle” from Lenovo and LaptopSchools.com.  Each year students are turned away at the Configuration Nights as their machines don’t meet the following minimum standards.  Please review these specifications carefully if you are not planning on buying a “Recommended Bundle” from LaptopSchools.com

• Windows XP Pro, Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Ultimate operating systems are the ONLY operating systems allowed
• Apple Computers will not be allowed on the District’s network.

Please Note--XP Home will NOT be allowed, Windows Media Center Edition will NOT be allowed, Vista Home Basic will NOT be allowed and Vista Home Premium will NOT be allowed.

• Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint & Excel) already installed
• 1GB RAM
• 802.11b Wireless Network Adaptor—preferably not an external card, as internal wireless is preferred
• 80 GB or larger hard drive
• Carrying case which accommodates the computer only
• Any laptop that has been certified for use in the CUSD AAAL program previously will need to be recertified.

The Anytime, Anywhere, Anyone Learning (AAAL) program in Clovis Unified is a partnership with the community and with a number of businesses. Our business partners include:

Microsoft | Lenovo | Central Valley Community Bank
Educational Employees Credit Union | www.laptopschools.com