Computer Recommendations

The Department of City Planning at PennDesign

As you are preparing for your first semester at PennDesign, we wish to advise you on your future computer needs and tell you a little about the PennDesign computing environment. We require incoming City Planning students to buy or bring a laptop for use beginning in the Fall Semester of their first year. For example, your coursework in CPLN 543 Techniques of Spatial Analysis is entirely computer-dependent and several other courses demand heavy computer use. While PennDesign has computing labs, they are primarily reserved for teaching and cannot fully accommodate the needs of the school’s 500+ students. The PennDesign studios, where you will have a workspace in the Spring Semester, are networked—providing access to the Internet and the school’s various network resources, including printers and plotters. Course-required software is available in the labs, with a limited number of licenses available over the network. You should plan to purchase your own copy of Microsoft Office Professional. Many students also find a personal copy of Adobe Creative Suite Standard to be very useful in their coursework.

Please do NOT buy a computer with Vista Home Operating System. Vista Business and Vista Ultimate are acceptable operating systems. Whether you chose a Windows-based or MAC computer; or are deciding between 32 and 64 bit, it is important that you carefully read our “Student Guidelines for Purchasing a Computer” at www.design.upenn.edu/comp.

As a service to our students, PennDesign has negotiated an agreement with the Computer Connection, located in the University of Pennsylvania Bookstore, to offer you an educational discount on custom configured laptops designed to meet your curricular needs. You can view online at our website (www.design.upenn.edu/comp). or in the Computer Connection brochure on pages 8 through 11. It is also very important that you secure your computer and all peripherals with a lock-down device. For your convenience, we have included computer lock-down kits in our offerings.

Pre-ordering your technology package through the University’s Computer Connection provides the convenience of having the items you ordered ready for you to pick up at the store when you arrive on campus. You may order online at campusexpress.upenn.edu by August 15, 2009. You must establish your PennKey ID and password (www.upenn.edu/computing/pennkey) before entering the Campus Express web site. If laptops are ordered before July 15, 2009 you may choose to have your order shipped to your home.

If you plan to purchase a system elsewhere, or want to evaluate a system you already own, please match the Specifications of your preferred systems to the ones offered by the Computer Connection. Many vendors will happily sell you cheaper systems with less RAM, a less powerful graphics card and/or lower hard drive performance. However, there is no guarantee that these less expensive systems will serve you well at PennDesign. Video card and RAM specifications are particularly important to Architecture students.

The University’s Office of Student Financial Services provides resources that can assist you in the purchase of your computer. If you have filed a FAFSA form and are eligible for financial aid, you can ask for a budget increase from the University’s Office of Student Financial Services. Download their budget Increase Form from www.sfs.upenn.edu/pdf/2008-09/education-budget-increase-08-09.pdf and return the completed form to them along with a receipt from the computer you’ve purchased or an estimate of the computer you plan to purchase. For more information stop by the PennDesign Office of Financial Aid, 110 Meyerson Hall.

If you have questions regarding the configurations or order placement, the Computer Connection staff can assist you. Please contact the store at 215-573-2850, or email the staff at ccxmail@pobox.upenn.edu. If you have specific questions about computing requirements at PennDesign, please feel free to contact me at 215-898-3160 or cathy@design.upenn.edu. Please visit our website, www.design.upenn.edu/comp, for more detailed information about which system is best for you, and which software packages we recommend you own.

Have a lovely summer, and we look forward to working with you.

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