1. What is the laptop requirement in the Park School?
All first-year students entering the Park School are required to purchase
a MacBook Pro. There are several models of the MacBook Pro available; any model will meet the requirement.
Transfer students entering a Park class (classes of 2007, 2008, and 2009) that does not have a laptop requirement
will not be required to participate in the program.
2. How do Park students access the special discounts?
Students who send an enrollment deposit to Ithaca College to confirm their enrollment in the Park School will
receive an email informing them of the URL and the log-in information that will give them access to the Park School's
Web page at Apple's online store. The discount is available only through the online Apple store.
3. What kind of special deal will Park students receive on the AppleCare Warranty?
Park students are encouraged but not required to purchase the
Apple Care Warranty, which lasts for three years.
4. Why has the Park School adopted a Mac laptop as its standard?
The media and graphics capabilities of the MacBook Pro computer
make it uniquely suited to the digital intensive nature
of the Park School curriculum. Also, the teaching, learning
and technical support environments are both simplified
and enhanced with every student owning the same type
of system.
5. What software programs are students required to purchase?
Like a textbook, software is a teaching and learning tool,
and different degree programs and curricula require
different kinds of software. First-year students will
be required to purchase only the Microsoft
Office Suite; information is available on the Park School
Apple Web page.
One of the reasons Park has chosen the MacBook Pro as its standard is that it will allow all students to have access to a
bundle of very good multimedia software. A recent review in NotebookReview.com described the bundled MacBook software with the PC
equivalents (see www.notebookreview.com):
Another area that gets overlooked when people compare Apple computers to Windows computers is the software that comes bundled.
It may be that because the video and photo applications bundled with Windows are so poor that it is hard for people who have
not tried them to know just how good Apple's applications are. They are 'free' after all.
Well actually they are not free, but they are included with the new Mac. Starting with iLife 06, Apple provides their
customers with a suite of consumer video, photo, audio and DVD authoring software that is as good (and mostly better) than
anything you can buy to run on Windows. iLife consists of iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, GarageBand and iWeb. The first three
are comparable to Adobe's consumer suite of Photoshop and Premier Elements. You really need to factor this into the equation...
6. What if a family simply cannot afford the financial burden
of a laptop computer?
Apple offers very good loan programs that allow a family to purchase a laptop over time. In addition, Park will offer a very
limited loaner program, on a semester-by-semester basis, to those families whose documented financial need makes it impossible
for them to purchase a laptop; please contact the Dean of the Park School directly to discuss the program.
7. What if my student needs a PC laptop for her work in another
degree program?
The MacBook Pro will run the Windows OS through a free software program called Boot Camp. Here's What Information Week
had to say about the program:
Boot Camp's execution is good, and the concept is a stroke of brilliance on Apple's part. Apple doesn't sell or support
Windows on Macs and says it has no intention to preinstall Windows on its products. Regardless, Apple now has a fast, capable,
stylish line of computers that runs a wide range of operating systems natively: OS X, Windows XP, and Linux. That't something
to get excited about, or if you're Dell or Hewlett-Packard, a bit concerned.
Please note, however, that a copy of Windows XP must be purchased separately in order to run Windows on a MacBook Pro. Neither Ithaca College nor Apple will provide students with a copy of the Windows operating system for installation using Boot Camp. |
