Been about 6 years since my last laptop purchase, and it's time for an upgrade.

I prefer Apple products/desktops, and I've seen people partition their hard drives to have Windows applicable when they need it. That said, I also see/heard you can use Apple with DoD CACs these days.

What's the latest?

I don't know about mac books but the company Thursby makes CAC readers and has a ap for iPhones and iPads so I would imagine they support mac books

They do work on Mac books. But dont think everything is better, we still have the problem where some websites still require you to use older versions of IE!

I recommend you search for militarycac and read there. The guy who runs the page does a good job updating it and giving info on new OS and how to use your CAC on them.

Thanks. I'll take a look again since its been a whille. Don't remembering him addressing a partition...it is the websites and programs I need to use hence the need for a Windows partition.

You can buy refurbished Dell and HP laptops that were originally government laptops with built in CAC readers for under $300. I've got a Dell E6410 with an i5 CPU that I use just for traveling because it's more convenient than taking a government laptop (with the wireless disabled, HBSS, and no-fun-allowed user admin policies). If anything happens to a $285 laptop I'm not to concerned about it.

Nice - thanks! I'm a separate note, guess it's each org preferences. Our wireless isn't disabled. Allows me to use VPN or Internet without.

quote:

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You can buy refurbished Dell and HP laptops that were originally government laptops with built in CAC readers for under $300. I've got a Dell E6410 with an i5 CPU that I use just for traveling because it's more convenient than taking a government laptop (with the wireless disabled, HBSS, and no-fun-allowed user admin policies). If anything happens to a $285 laptop I'm not to concerned about it.

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So, where did you find this laptop? Third party vendor?

I bought mine (and one for my FIL) from Yugster.com. I notice that Newegg.com has them for $280 and also some HP Elitebooks with smart cart readers built in.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834299256

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4RR2M09327&cm_re=elitebook_card-_-34-260-071-_-Product

http://militarycac.com/

I saw this refurbished E6410 advertised today for $260 with free shipping. It's the same model I bought for $280 but this one comes with Win 7 Pro 64 bit and the one I bought only has Win 7 Home 32 bit.

Dell Latitude E6410 Laptop

Do you remember what software for the CAC driver you used? Did the same thing you did and I'm currently troubleshooting it now.

With Windows 7 and later there is not need for CAC middleware such as Active Identy. Check under Internet Options to ensure that your certificates are available to the OS.

By coincidence, Newegg has a refurbushed HP Elitebook 8440p with a CAC reader, i5 CPU, 4GB RAM, and Win 7 Professional 64 bit for $170 after at $30 mail in rebate. That is a steal on an i5 laptop of any description let alone one with Win7 64bit and a CAC reader.

Refurbished HP 8440p