Computers
Although having your own computer is not mandatory it is strongly urged that you have one as there will be many instances where one will be required. While the University does provide access to many public facilities you may not find their hours of operation or availability convenient for your particular schedule and needs.
Please refer to the brochure from the campus Computer Connection's annual Back-to-School sale. Special discounts were negotiated with Dell, IBM and Apple to accommodate Penn's specific needs. The configurations for these desktop and notebook systems were derived in anticipation of the needs of students over the next four years. While it is impossible to predict your specific needs these configurations are a good starting point. Residential Computing has a good FAQ on this.
If you plan to purchase a system from elsewhere or want to evaluate a system you all ready own, please match the specifications of your system to the ones offered from the Computer Connection. Some venders may be willing to sell you a less expensive system but it's usually because of some compromise between performance, reliability, compatibility, expandability and warranty and there is no guarantee that these compromises will serve you well for your time here at Penn.
Please refer questions about the sale (e.g., pricing and availability) to the contact info on the brochure.
If you have a machine currently but are not sure if it meets PENNs standards feel free to contact me at...
Phone: 215-898-7405
E-mail: louie@sp2.upenn.edu
In person:
3701 Locust Walk
Caster Building Room B36
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6214
The School of Social Policy & Practice is mainly a Windows 98, 2000, XP based environment, although it is possible to survive using a Apple Computer. The choice between getting a desktop vs a laptop is a matter of your personal preference.