Computer Specifications The BEDS program now requires each student to have a laptop computer for design work in the studio. A smart phone or tablet will not meet your needs, but almost any mid-grade or better laptop bought in the last three to five years, Mac or PC, will suffice. The curriculum does not emphasize rendering or moving images, so exceptional processing power is not essential. A minimum monitor size of 13" will help you and your tutors see what you are doing. The School of Architecture traditionally has used Macs, so informal support for a Mac will be better than for a PC. You must have some means for external backup; a simple solution is a hard drive that you keep at home. Your external drive should be substantially larger than your internal drive. Web-based solutions also can be explored, but be sure that you can back up your entire laptop, not just the few current files you carry on a thumb drive or keep in the 250 MB space that Dalhousie provides you. If you don't back up your whole system, the loss, theft, or damage that some students suffer from time to time could be catastrophic. For security, you will also need a cable lock for a laptop computer. If you have any questions about whether your current computer is sufficient for the BEDS program, or what type of computer or external hard drive to purchase, please contact the chair of the School's Computer Committee, Emanuel Jannasch - not Susanna Morash-Kent or the School of Architecture office.