Guidelines for Bringing a Computer to Campus

HWS has partnered with our preferred vendors to offer some configurations that meet our recommended configuration. Please visit the links below to get more information regarding your platform of choice:

Suggested Academic Program Configurations

Architectural Studies Recommended Minimum Configuration:

  • MacBook (recommended) or PC laptop with a dual-core processor, at least 4 GM RAM, and a 500 GB hard drive
  • Suggested additional software: Adobe Suite (specifically Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign)

Software may be ordered through the Help Desk at an educational discount. Contact the Help Desk at helpdesk@hws.edu or 315-781-4357.

Computer Setup

It is our expectation that if you bring a computer to campus, you are responsible for:

  1. Reading and understanding all manuals provided by the manufacturer
  2. Performing a basic computer setup
  3. Providing all system restoration media and keeping them in a safe place
  4. Meeting minimum campus standards for connection to our network (see below)
  5. Running an up-to-date anti-virus application on your computer

We provide:

Network setup (instructions are available).

If you are unsuccessful and meet the above criteria, you can bring your computer to the Help Desk and a technician will evaluate and fix the problem. If it is a hardware-related problem, you are responsible for all repairs.

Recommended Accidental Damange Protection

Warranty
3 or 4 year parts and labor

Insurance
Safeware accidental damage protection (see http://www.safeware.com/hobartwilliamsmith)

Recommended Software Configuration

Operating system
Windows 7
Apple Macintosh OS X 10.6 or 10.7

Productivity
Microsoft Office 2010 (PC) or Microsoft Office 2011 (Apple)
(Microsoft Office is available for sale at the Help Desk.)

Related Information:

A list of prices for various software and other IT services is available.

For information regarding student computer requirements or recommendations at HWS please contact the Help Desk at helpdesk@hws.edu.