1. ALPA IT CONFERENCE November 29 – December 1, 2006

2. Purchasing Policy All hardware and software over $300 must be purchased through the Purchasing Dept. MEC/LEC officers and members of a standing committee are eligible to receive a new computer every 3 years –Member must sign an Equipment Acceptance Form before computer can be released Laptop may not be transferred until fully depreciated or the member no longer needs a laptop

3. Amendment to Purchasing Policy Per Section 60 of the Administrative Manual, all office equipment including: fax machines, telephones, cellular phones, scanners, related peripheral equipment and software must be purchased through the Purchasing Dept – no matter what the cost. Exceptions to the above are flash drives, toner cartridges and paper, blank cd or dvd discs, and one-time home internet set- up – limited to $50 to enable high-speed internet access only

4. Evolution of Standard Laptop –2003 – Gateway 200EB - $1770 512 MB Memory 20 GB Hard Drive –2004 – Gateway 450E - $1700 512 MB Memory 40 GB Hard Drive –2005 – Gateway M250E - $1700 1024 MB Memory 60 GB Hard Drive –2006 – Gateway M255E - $1611 1024 MB Memory 60 GB Hard Drive –- 2006 - Gateway M255E - $1654 as of December, 2006 2048 MB Memory 80 GB Hard Drive

5. Laptop Cost Savings Year Laptops Purchased Total Cost Average Cost 2002337$737,411$2,188 2003244$498,396$2,043 2004259$440,239$1,700 2005309$525,300$1,700 2006*258$423,318$1,641 * 2006 is through November 15, 2006

6. Gateway M255E as configured $1611 Memory: 2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 Hard drive: 80GB 5400rpm (as of 12/06) Screen: 14.1” WXGA TFT Modular CD-ROM/DVD+RW Battery: 8-cell Lithium ion Windows XP Pro and Office 2003 SB 3-year Battery extended service warranty Keep your Hard Drive warranty 3-year Onsite parts and labor warranty

7. Laptop Battery Recall While Gateway has not experienced any problems with Sony batteries, they have issued a voluntary recall and replacement of all Sony batteries that could potentially be affected Emails have been sent to all ALPA users (60+ users) who have or may have these batteries Concerns? Check your battery @ http://www.gateway.com/battery/

8. MS Office Pro 2007 / MS Vista To be released early 2007 Systems purchased between October 26, 2006 and March 15, 2007 can receive free upgrade Shipping and handling fee –Office Pro 2007 - $11.95 –Vista - $19.95

9. New E-4610 SB Desktop Gateway 4610 SB Tower –Office SB 2003 – 2048 MB RAM –160GB hard drive –Intel Core 2 Duo Processor 1.86 GHZ 667 MHZ FSB –CD-RW/DVD-RW drive –4 year warranty