Recommendations
Microsoft Office for students, faculty, and staff
- Because of our licensing agreement with Microsoft and our Office 365 subscription, we're able to provide the full Microsoft Office suite for PC, Mac, and mobile for FREE. Note that once you graduate or leave employment, your subscription will lapse and you'll need to renew it in a different way.
Software discounts
- Using our Kivuto portal can you get you discounts on various academic software.
New computer discounts
Colorado College partners with both Dell and Apple to provide small discounts to our community for personal purchases.
- Shop at the custom CC Dell online store and get approximately 5% off
- Shop at the custom CC Apple online store and get approximately 5% off
We recommend purchasing a computer from an online store and having it shipped as the best option. We find online stores preferable primarily because the items are built to order and so are more "brand new," and they don't come with as much pre-installed junk (called bloatware), and there are more options for configuring your purchase just how you want it.
We do not recommend Chromebooks.
Prices for basic computers have really come down in recent years, and in the case of both Dell and Apple, starting with the cheapest base model and bumping up the specs a little bit is fine for the majority of things that an average person uses a computer for.
We suggest getting a solid state (or flash-based) hard drive that's at least 512 GB and 8 GB of RAM.
Colorado College partners with both Dell and Apple to provide small discounts to our community for personal purchases.
- Shop at the custom CC Dell online store and get approximately 5-10% off
- Use member ID us26876754
- Shop at the Apple Education online store and get approximately 5-10% off
Though we're limited on supply, the Solutions Center in Tutt Library also has computers to loan:
- 1-block checkouts of mac and pc laptops for students, faculty, and staff
- 1-block checkouts of webcams, iPads, apple pencils
- 1-year checkouts of pc laptops
Computers
All computers purchased with college funds (research, department, startup, ITS:, etc.) must be acquired through the ITS: division and remain college property.
Webcam
The Logitech C270 HD webcam does all the basics you'll need for a low price and is compatible across most systems.
Headset
The Logitech H390 USB headset is a great value for the cost and will help you listen better if there is background noise distracting you. It's also especially good for the microphone, which will pick up your voice much better (and with much less background noise) than a standard webcam microphone.
Printer
The Brother HLL2370DW is a great basic laser printer for a low price. Note that this printer is B&W only and has no other functions. Laser printers use toner instead of ink, which is much more efficient and better for the environment.
Audio Transcription
For uploading a video and having the audio transcribed and added to your video as captions, this Microsoft tutorial shows how you can use Stream on Sharepoint, which is part of our email (Office 365). These captions can then be downloaded as a text webVTT file
For transcribing audio, you can use MS Word online - this Microsoft tutorial will help.
ITS: recommends individuals to help you with your home computer or personal technology gadgets upon request - email us at its@coloradocollege.edu or give us a call 719.389.6449.
Local computer repair businesses can change rapidly, so we don't make specific recommendations. We advise you to use good judgement when choosing a computer repair company to help you with your personal computer. We recommend you check the Colorado Springs Better Business Bureau website or another reputable business review site to find a trustworthy shop.
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