For the 2009-2010 academic year, AAP highly recommends that all students maintain a personal laptop computer. These computers need to be powerful enough to support the high video and computational uses that students will need during the course of their studies. For first-year undergraduate students, while there are no required computer-based classes, the use of computers is necessary in almost all aspects of student life. Architecture, Art, and CRP students are encouraged to start building portfolios which typically include many digital components, and in all cases, writing papers and emailing are required. Many of our College courses also make extensive use of Blackboard for course management and syllabus distribution. The College provides and maintains numerous high-end teaching computer labs for classes (see navigation links to the left), but the students' personal computers should be used for all non-class related usage such as email, web surfing, blogging, music downloads, papers, as well as class work and design studios.
Choosing Your Computer: PC or Macintosh?
While there are some computer graphic/CAD programs that only run on Windows, the Macintosh’s ability to dual-boot Windows and OS X using Boot Camp has made this much less of a problem. The two packages of software that most AAP students will use, Microsoft Office and Adobe’s Creative Suite, run equally well on both platforms.
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Recommended Laptop Specifications
- 2.4+ Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor or AMD Turion 64 X2/Athlon 64 X2
- 3GB SDRAM (memory) minimum – 4GB recommended
- Dedicated Video Processor with 256 MB Video RAM (VRAM) minimum – 512 MB recommended*
- 160 GB Hard Drive (250 GB recommended)
- 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet
- Wireless Ethernet (802.11 b/g/n)
- Three-year warranty (recommended)
- Theft and damage insurance (recommended)
- USB storage drive 4GB (8GB recommended)
- Anti-virus software installed and properly configured
(
Download Symantec Antivirus and Firewall free from Cornell University IT Security)
*Avoid a computer that makes use of shared system memory for video memory. In the Macintosh product line, the MacBook computers use integrated Intel graphics processors while the MacBook Pro line offers the dedicated NVIDIA graphics cards. We recommend that if you are going to purchase a Macintosh that you purchase a model from the MacBook Pro line. At this point the MacBook AIR laptop is not powerful enough for use in AAP. In the Dell product line the Latitude E6400 and E6500 models have dedicated NVIDIA graphics cards.
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Software Used at AAP
Below is a list of software typically used throughout the College. This list is in no manner complete, nor is all software required by each discipline. As students move through their educational years, different software needs will arise. Students are not required to buy all the software on this list, and may find it easier to buy software as needed rather than all at once.
All majors:
Word processing software like Microsoft Office, which includes Word, PowerPoint and Excel.
CRP Majors:
Adobe Creative Suite may be useful depending on what classes you are enrolled in. The software is available in all
Digital Classrooms — see description below.
Art/Architecture majors:
Adobe offers several versions of Adobe Creative Suite. Art and Architecture students might want to start with the Design Suite (Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator) or the Design Premium Suite and then add individual components as necessary. NOTE:
CS4 is the current version.
Other software also used in the college:
- AutoCad (Free student download)
- 3DStudio Viz
- 3DMax
- Rhino (50% price savings at Campus Store)
- SAS
- SPSS
- Maya
- ArcGIS
- Video editing packages like Final Cut Pro for a Mac, or Premier for PCs
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Purchasing Software and Hardware
The Cornell Campus Store sells numerous Dell and Macintosh computers that will work well for AAP students. Cornell has established good pricing contracts with Dell, and the Store is also an authorized Apple dealer. They sell a variety of software from Adobe, Microsoft, and others at discounted prices especially for higher education.
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Microsoft Windows Vista
Cornell and AAP are currently transitioning staff and faculty using PCs to Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007. The major software packages that most AAP students will need, (Microsoft Office 2007 and Adobe Creative Suite4) are Vista compliant. Most other major software vendors now also offer Vista Certified packages.
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Other Software
Microsoft Office 2007 (PC)
Microsoft made a major change in the format of its files for Word, Excel, and Powerpoint in the 2007 release, and files created using Office 2007 may or may not be easily readable by older versions of Microsoft Office. There is a converter program that Microsoft offers for free that will convert the newer 2007 format files to the older format.
Microsoft Office 2008 FOR MACINTOSH
Word, Powerpoint and Excel
Anti-Virus Software
All computers that request to connect to any of Cornell’s networks must have an updated version of anti-virus software. Cornell has a campus-wide site license for Symantec anti-virus and Symantec firewall protection, and provides this software free of charge to students. (A valid Cornell NetID and password is required). Any popular anti-virus software will work, but it is required that virus definition updates be scheduled regularly on a daily or weekly basis.
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Internet Access and Printing Services
Cornell has a wireless network that covers almost all of campus, including AAP’s four buildings, so network access is easily obtainable. Cornell also offers network-based printing services for a small fee per page. AAP has numerous
Net-Print printers scattered throughout its buildings; however, printing in a student’s dorm room may require a personal printer.
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Computer Security at Cornell
Computer security at Cornell provides information about how to recognize and respond to security problems, how to protect your identity and more.
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Contact Us
For further information, please email
aap-laptop-specs@cornell.edu.
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