BATON ROUGE SCHOOL OF COURT REPORTING
Equipment Recommendations
Laptop Computer

Laptop:  IBM PC Compatible (not Apple)
Operating System:  Windows XP Professional is the recommended operating system for use with modern software like Total Eclipse.  New versions of Total Eclipse will no longer run on Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows ME.  (The student version of Total Eclipse, by Advantage Software, Inc., is the computer aided transcription software most of our students prefer.)
Processor:  
Minimum:  500-Mhz Pentium III
Recommended:  Pentium IV, Centrino, Celeron M, or AMD Athlon processors running at 1 GHz or above are recommended.  (Some manufacturers deploy desktop processors in laptop computers.  When notebook computers with desktop processors are used for resource-intensive applications like speech recognition, the processor can overheat and become unstable.  They should therefore be avoided.) 
RAM:  
Minimum:  256 megabytes 
Recommended:  512 megabytes or higher

Hardware Ports:  
Serial Port:  Steno writers typically connect to the laptop PC via a DB9 pin serial port.  Some of the newer laptops do not ship with a serial port as standard equipment.  If your laptop does not have a serial port, you will need to obtain a serial – to – USB adapter in order to connect your writer.  A serial to USB adapter can be purchased at electronics stores like Radio Shack, Best Buy and CompUSA for around $25.00.
Parallel Port:  Consider your printer.  If your printer requires a parallel type connection, you will need to make sure your laptop has a high-quality, bi-directional, IBM-compatible parallel port.  
USB:  Make sure you have at least one USB port.  A USB hub may be needed to connect multiple USB devices (external mouse, keyboard, writer, etc.) simultaneously.  

Networking Hardware:  Either an internal or external wireless G capable networking adapter is recommended.  

Internet Access:  Study and practice material is frequently provided to students via our website.  The BRSCR campus provides free wireless internet access to students.  Internet connectivity from home is recommended.

Storage / Drives:
Floppy disk: A high-density 3.5” floppy diskette drive is needed during the national RPR exams.  Additionally, some steno writers utilize floppy drives.
CD, CDRW or DVD drive:  A writable device is recommended for backups.
Hard disk:  A minimum size of 10 Gigabytes is recommended.  Most new laptops come with a much larger size.

Software Utilities: 
	Anti-Virus:
o	Minimum:  AVG Anti-Virus
o	Recommended:  Trend Micro’s PCCIllin
	Anti-Spyware:  
o	Minimum:  Windows Defender
o	Recommended:  Webroot’s Spy Sweeper
	Compression:  WinZip
	PDF:  Adobe Reader

Software Productivity:  
	Microsoft Office products, such as Word, Excel and Outlook are recommended.
	Internet Explorer version 6.0 or higher is recommended.
	Total Eclipse computer aided transcription software is available through the BRSCR.
	Windows Media Player 9.0 or higher is recommended for listening to your downloaded MP3 dictation files.