My PC has finally quit on me. It is lasted me 6 years (with basic upgrades along the way), but now the processor has decided to give up the ghost, and so I need a new system. The Processor is first generation P4, released long before all these nice new dual-core models that are available. I should have upgraded long ago, but I have not really had any need to. I have ordered all the pieces I need to build a new system, but one of the websites I have ordered from is managed by incompetents, so there has been a delay in building the machine.
So… what has all this got to do with my degree course? First of all, it goes some way to explaining the lack of postings I have made. Things have been too frustrating. The PC likes to shut down after anywhere between 20 minutes and 2 hours of use, and I have had a hard enough time with assignments and work (my school have been running intensive summer classes which means I have been working longer hours). More relevant to you, the reader, it got me thinking about just how much PC Power I would need to complete the KEISIE degree course.
I am confident in saying that the degree would run perfectly on any PC that is stable. You do not need a top of the range PC or laptop, and indeed any entry level model will suffice. As a minimum, you need to be able to run the following software:
An Operating System
Most PC’s come with Windows installed, but if you do not have a copy, or if you do not want to use it, you can run Linux software which is free (MS Windows is not free). Some builds of Linux will run on old 486 machines and need just 16mb of RAM! I bought a second hand 486 machine back in 1994 to help me with my bachelors, so that should tell you just how old a machine it can run on!
I should warn you now. Linux is not always easy to use, and if you are a PC beginner, you should probably use the MS Windows that came on your PC or pay for a copy. It is the easiest OS to use out of the box. Whatever you may think of Microsoft, there is a good reason for their popularity!
If you choose an Apple computer, their OSX software is also more than adequate.
A Word Processor
Open Office is a free office suite that will suffice. It is capable of running on Linux as long as you have 128Mb of RAM, and 200Mb of disk space. If you are using a Windows machine, the disk space requirement goes up to 800Mb for the install, and then drops down to around 440Mb after the temporary files have been deleted. This may sound like a lot, but when you consider that a CD holds 800Mb of data, you should realise that it is a very small program.
There is also a version of Open Office for the Mac, should you require it.
A PDF Reader
The KEISIE course readings are all provided as PDF files, and so you will need PDF reader software in order to view them. Basic reader software is almost always free. You can go with the trusted Adobe Acrobat reader, but this is considered bloatware. It uses a lot of your system resources, and is quite a large download, but it is good, free, and runs on Windows, Linux or MAC without problems.
I prefer to use STDU Viewer, which opens a number of other formats. Whilst STDU uses less space, and installs fewer unnecessary components, it does use more RAM (512Mb). This is largely down to the fact that it can open a number of documents in one window, and allows functionality that other programs do not.
If you are truly limited by your system, Cool PDF Reader requires just 626Kb of disk space (half of a floppy disk!) and does not need installation. 32Mb of RAM is enough to run it, so it will run on any PC built in the past 10 years without any problems.
A PDF Writer
Assignments for the course are submitted as PDF documents. There is no need to print out and mail them in as there are with many other distance courses. PDF format cannot be easily edited, and so it is a secure way to submit documents. They are uploaded to the course website and submitted directly to the faculty in that manner.
The commercial PDF creation software is expensive. Adobe Acrobat will cost you $299!!! Thankfully, there are many free solutions available. A lot of these are intended as a free trial, and so they will often add a watermark indicating along the lines of “created with… software”. Whilst the KEISIE faculty does not frown upon this, I do. Especially where there is an excellent alternative!
PrimoPDF is a free, lightweight piece of software that installs itself as a virtual printer. Whenever you “print” a file using PrimoPDF, it will create a PDF file of your document. They support over 300 different file formats, and a nifty feature is the ability to append to PDF files. If you need to print from 3 different files and make 1 PDF, it is possible with this software!
Whilst the software (and append capability) only works with windows, they do allow you to submit Mac or Linux files to the website and you PDF can be mailed to you. I have not used this feature, but if it is anything like the software version it will be great.
Zip software
Most Operating Systems now include the capability to open Zip archives. If you download more than one file from the KEISIE website, they arrive as a Zip archive. Whilst the ability to open these files is not necessary (you could simply do individual downloads), it helps streamline the process of downloading the unit readings every 2 weeks. If for some reason you cannot open these files, you can download the excellent WINRAR, and use it on just about any OS. The trial version is free, and is not time limited. You can use it to extract files with no problems for as long as you need to.
People often assume that a top of the range PC is required to study online, but it is not required for the KEISIE course. Any internet ready PC will suffice! You can buy new PC’s for $300 these days, and an old second hand one will cost even less. This will be enough to see that you can complete your studies, and even without any software included you can easily download free alternatives that will more than suffice!
