Peck School of the Arts ++ Laptop Knowledge Base

Black & Gold Committee

KNOWLEDGE BASE

Purchasing your Apple Laptop

Before purchasing your Apple laptop, please read this article. Included in this article is an explanation of how to purchase your discounted laptop, how to add extra items, the parts included in your purchase, and access to the UWM custom Apple store. Link to the Apple Store is at the bottom of this page.

From the Apple Store page that appears, click on the "Recommended Systems" icon on the right side of the screen. �This link directs �you to the specially priced laptops designed for your coursework at UWM. �Purchase your laptop from this linked page in order to receive the special UWM negotiated discount.

It is very important that you click on the Recommended Systems link.

school hompage

Close up view
close up of recommended systems

The recommended systems page presents 3 PowerBook laptop systems.� All recommended systems include wireless networking, a minimum of 512MB RAM, at least an 80GB hard drive, and three years of AppleCare.

systems options

Explaining the parts:

Apple Airport Extreme is your wireless card. This internal card allows access to wireless networks. The UWM campus has significant wireless coverage.
A �minimum of 512MB of RAM is now included for all PowerBooks. This is adequate for most users but additional RAM may be added to your recommended system to improve performance.
80GB hard drive is the built in storage space. 80 GB is the minimum and is a good amount of space to store documents, music files, pictures, and movies.
AppleCare Protection Plan is Apple's signature support that includes three years of direct telephone access, powerful diagnostic tools, Apple-certified repairs, and simplified access to Apple's 24-hour-a-day internet support. It does not cover�accidental or intentional damage.

Going through the purchase
After selecting which laptop you wish to purchase, you will be able to upgrade your computer. For instance if you wish to change from 512MB of ram to 768MB, you would select 768 from the memory drop down menu.

When you are done upgrading your computer, click on the green continue button. The next page consists of different accessories you may purchase to go along with your laptop. The only accessory that we recommend is a carrying case (though you do not need to purchase this through the Apple Store).

Do not purchase Microsoft Office from the Apple Store. UWM has an agreement with Microsoft that allows students to purchase the Office Suite for approximately $80 from the Wisconsin Integrated Software Catalog (see Getting Software - Microsoft/Adobe/Macromedia).

When you are done selecting any accessories, click the green checkout button. At this point you will need to log in with your Apple ID. If you do not have one, it is easy to create one.

At the check out screen, you will see at least 2 things: Your laptop, and AppleCare. These are both required and are described above. Removing the AppleCare will remove the entire computer package from your order. Below is a sample image of what you will see.

order summary

Click here to go to the Apple Store

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