July 28, 2004

Dear Students,

I am pleased to inform you that the Art Department, in collaboration with the Departments of Music and History at the University at Albany have arranged for special discounts on Apple wireless laptop computers and software. These discounts are available only to University At Albany students and they are only available by logging in to the Art Department's Custom Online Apple Store.

To log in to the store, enter the following:

login = art
password - student

These discounts are being offered as a result of a special relationship with Apple Computer. Almost all of the above-mentioned departments' faculty members and computing facilities are based on the Apple platform. We feel that the Apple platform is the most appropriate for Arts-focused studio practice and coursework. In addition, wireless coverage is available in all Fine Arts facilities, and in most other places on campus. Very soon, the entire campus will be completely wireless, which will allow you to gain access to the internet and University network from anywhere on campus. We will be urging incoming students to buy wireless laptops effective Fall of 2005, and will require all upper-level digital media students to have their own compuputers effective Fall 2006. The laptop suggested at this time is the Apple 15" PowerBook G4 with the most up to date configuration and a custom suite of software. We are pleased to be able to offer these discounts, which in some cases are as much as $200 off the already-discounted student pricing. These are excellent deals on Apple products and they are configured to work in the University's network environment. Review the different bundles being offered and see which one makes the most sense for you. Again, this is not a required purchase at this time. We simply want to make sure you had the opportunity to acquire this equipment at the discounted prices. Please do not hesitate to contact me via e-mail at dgoodwin@albany.edu with any questions.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you in class.

Prof. Daniel Goodwin