Important News and Announcements |
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Information on the SHASS IT Support Model can be found here: SHASS IT Support Model Details
SHASS IT is run by the Dean's Office of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at MIT.
This group is staffed by Systems Administrator Lead Albert Wang (wangal@mit.edu) and Systems Administrator Daniel Irvine (dirvine@mit.edu).
Our goal is to provide the highest level of on-campus IT customer service support for 7 of the academic sections in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Science and the SHASS Dean's Office within the limits of available resources.
To help you on your way, we've set up this Wiki page as your helpful one stop IT resource.
Those areas on the 3 year hardware renewal cycle should consult MIT IS&T's recommended computer hardware for the list of acceptable desktop and laptop machines.
For those areas on a 4-5 year hardware renewal schedule and not the usual 3 year, please be aware that you must purchase a mid to high end model machine to ensure the computer has the ability to run newer software at a minimally acceptable performance level 4-5 years down the line. Minimum RAM must be no lower than DDR3 8GB and the processor must be no lower than an i5 running at 2.9Ghz. For users that require Adobe Creative Suite or for users doing video or photo editing or web development, the minimum RAM must be no lower than DDR3 16GB and the processor must be no lower than an i7 processor.
Please be aware that we do not recommend the Macbook Air as a primary laptop machine due to its weak WiFi performance and limited number of ports. It is an acceptable second laptop for travel as long as the user understands its limitations and potential connectivity drawbacks. For light weight primary Apple laptop solution, we recommend the current 13" Macbook Pro with Retina Display. At 1 pound heavier than the MacBook Air it has the performance, flexibility, and functionality of a full blown laptop.
Finally, be aware of the HD sizes of the machine you're buying compared to the amount of data on the machine you currently have. Many of the new machines are coming with smaller but faster solid state HDs. Make sure you have enough storage space on the new machine to move everything from the old machine.
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