Northern Michigan University TLC Laptop Program
Art & Design Majors

All Art & Design majors receive a Apple MacBook to support their academic and studio courses as part of the Teaching, Learning and Connectivity laptop program; the laptop is replaced every two years with a newer model.

MacBook Features
(current 2007-08 model)

2.16Hz Intel Core Duo
4M L2 cache @667MHz
1GB DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300)
13.3-inch TFT widescreen display
1280 x 800 resolution
Intel GMA 950 graphics
64MB of DDR2 video memory
120GB Serial ATA2 hard drive
SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Built-in AirPort Extreme
Built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
Scrolling Trackpad
Sudden Motion Sensor
Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T ethernet
Built-in iSight video camera
Built-in firewire (1)
Build-in Stereo Speakers and microphone

Software Mac OSX, iDvd, iMovie, iPhoto, iTunes, Garage Band, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia Dreamweaver, Macromedia Flash, and Microsoft Office. Additional software is available for specific courses.

The MacBook is backed by the staff of the Academic Computer Center and the Apple Support Hotline. After two years of use, students will be issued new MacBooks.

Academic Computing Services - support for student MacBooks

Art & Design Students Use MacBooks

Electronic Imaging students utilize the MacBook to create digital photographic illustrations and web graphics using Adobe Photoshop, web page designs using Macromedia Dreamweaver, interactive web sites using Macromedia Flash, and support general portfolio development. The MacBook in combination with the high end equipment available in the Electronic Imaging Studio allows majors the ability to have the flexibility of a notebook and the power to connect to dual processor workstations for rendering, scanners, digital cameras, and large format printers. The School of Art and Design runs a high end file server to facilitate transfer between MacBooks and the computer studio.

Also, students in Graphic Communication are using the MacBook to create typographic layout for course work and portfolio development. Posters, publication spreads, advertisements, corporate identity campaigns, and brochures are created using a variety of software like QuarkXpress, and Adobe Illustrator. Students make extensive use of the wireless connection to transfer files from their MacBook to our class file servers. Professional ink jet printers, scanners, and digital cameras in our digital studio are used in combination with the MacBooks to produce student work.

Photography students use Adobe Photoshop for color photography. Film transparency images are scanned and then adjusted using the tools available in Adobe Photoshop. Art and Design students enrolled in AD 217 Color Photography have used their MacBooks to work on scanned photographic images. After appropriate adjustments are made on the image it is then printed using the Fuji Pictography Printer.

Digital Cinema majors are digitizing video directly into the MacBook from their cameras via firewire and editing their videos with Final Cut Pro and producing sound tracks. The MacBook is a portable, video editing studio.