Overseas Faculty Manual - Computers

At FDR there are more than 500 computers (mostly Macintosh & DELL) available for use by students, faculty, and staff. They are located in four labs (High School, Middle School, Elementary, and Media Center), offices, and each classroom has at least one computer, all network connected. Each school has 20-30 laptops in mobile labs too. All of the computers are connected to the Internet, and to printers. There is lots of software and new multimedia projectors. Faculty members will receive an e-mail account as soon as they have signed an employment contract with the school.

Although computers and peripheral equipment are available in Peru, the choices are not as varied as in the US, and they are generally more expensive due to the additional shipping charges, a 20% duty tax, and a 19% sales tax. There are a few new stores that now are selling name-brand computer equipment (web-cameras, motherboards, memory, etc.) and they are cheaper than in the US. However, if you do bring electronics into Peru, neither through the airport or through the docks by sea shipment, regardless of the age of the equipment, it will be subject to the 20% duty tax and the 19% sales tax. The exception to this is laptops. CD’s, paper, and popular model printer cartridges are all available in Lima, but again they can be more expensive.

To hook up to the Internet from home, you must have a computer with a network card. Take care of this in the US before arriving in Peru. In Lima, there is basically one DSL option, Speedy by Telefonica, which is cheaper than phone line. There are different speeds of Speedy. We recommend Speedy 200 as the minimum (US$35 / month). We will suggest a few companies that can hook you up, but to get the process rolling, as soon as you arrive in July, call the company and schedule a technician to come to your house to set it up.

If you are bringing a computer with you, make sure you have a very good antivirus software program and a firewall. The IT department at FDR recommends Norton Internet Security as it contains both the antivirus software program and a firewall. Install this program and set it up before connecting your computer to the internet in Lima, as a few new overseas hires in recent years have had to reformat their computers in the first month due to viruses. If you have a Mac, there are fewer problems and you can get away with just Norton Antivirus.

On campus we have wireless hotspots in a variety of locations around campus. If you have a laptop with wireless, bring it to the IT department so they can prepare it for the school system.