Published 03 March 2011

Are you CC3 and CC4 network ready?

Chris Munday, Head of Product Development for RM Education's range of hardware, explains how to make the most of Community Connect 3 and Community Connect 4 ready PCs and notebooks and what advantages that brings to Community Connect users.

We've had feedback that not everyone is clear on what they're getting when they buy CC3 and CC4 ready PCs and notebooks so I thought it was worth a quick explanation with more detail in the TEC article below.

The bottom line is that it means that you can unpack your PC, plug it into your network and add it on straight away without the need to rebuild it or dig around for drivers. Windows is already installed, all the drivers are in place and all you need to do is specify the name you want to give it, which network to join it to and which location to put it. Job done!

HSPs and driver packs normally follow a little while after our new PCs are released; this is because we have to develop these packs based on the final set of drivers we have validated just before we release the PC or notebook. Therefore, rather than delay getting new products to customers, we release as CC3 or CC4 ready and because you can just add straight to your network without the need to rebuild, the drivers are already installed and you can get going straight away. When the HSP or driver pack for CC4 is released, you can install that on you network should you need to rebuild in the future.

This is just one of the extras that you'll get with RM PCs and your Community Connect network, that you won't get from other hardware manufacturers. For more details on CC3 and CC4 ready systems, check out TEC1739350.

Chris Munday is the Head of Product Development for RM Education's hardware business. Chris has worked in RM for 11 years, spanning both the hardware and software development parts of the company. He is a Governor at his local primary school and is passionate about education, ICT and the possibilities that the two together can offer.