This post was written by Hatchet reporter Ethan Bursofsky

The University launched an upgraded version of its GW Alert application that is now compatible with Apple computers and will take up less space on users’ computers.

The desktop application, utilized by about 10,000 students, faculty and staff, alerts the GW community about emergencies. The newer version is smaller in size and requires less memory to run, University spokeswoman Michelle Sherrard said.

“GW does hope more students and community members…use the new desktop application,” Sherrard said in an e-mail.

The upgrade came at no additional cost to the University.

Like the old software, the application immediately alerts the user of any threat to the University by scrolling an alert message on the bottom of the computer screen. The alert may direct users to the GW Campus Advisories website, which provides more details on an incident from the Office of Emergency Management.

Unlike the old application, the upgraded GW Alert won’t pop up when the computer starts and won’t include weather information. In place of the weather feature, users can download a Weather Channel widget from the Campus Advisories website.

While the desktop application doesn’t send alerts in other forms – like email or text message – Sherrard said the GW Alert application is only one aspect of GW’s emergency communication system.

“GW has other processes in place to communicate to the community via email, and SMS text message. Information on subscribing to SMS text message alerts can be found at Campus Advisories,” she said.

The upgraded GW Alert application can be found on the Campus Advisories website. Students must uninstall the old version before installing both the campus advisory system program as well as the program Adobe Air for the new alert system to work correctly.

Faculty and staff with computers managed by the Division of Information Technology will have their desktop applications automatically updated.

The University recommends installing the new application by April 22, as the old version of the GW Alert system will no longer work after that date.