Buying the Right Computer

The College of Engineering strongly suggests that all students bring a laptop computer to campus. These can be used in class for taking notes and working examples, and can be used in group work. The campus has extensive wireless and a laptop allows you to connect any time you want. Laptops are the tools of engineers in all companies.

At this point, we suggest that you consider a Tablet PC. The advantage of the Tablet PC is that you can annotate notes and MS PowerPoint decks using the "inking" features of the tablet. This will help you in the classroom and in sharing work and notes with other students. If you purchase using the UA Bookstore portal, then you can use the repair facility on campus (connected to the UA Bookstore in the Student Union) for hardware problems. Also, the components in these computers are higher grade than the components used in big-box store purchases.

Regardless of where you purchase, you can use the OSCR help system to get help for software when needed. The campus bookstore has great prices on MS Office.

The College of Engineering is part of the Microsoft Academic Alliance, so our students can get all Microsoft software free, except MS Office. We also have free College or campus licenses for:

• Sophos: virus protection -- this is a must!
• Textpad: text processing that is more advanced than notepad
• MatLab: for math equation solving and much more; extremely useful in sophomore, junior and senior engineering and math classes
• VPN: this allows you to connect securely to the campus network
• OneNote: note-taking software from Microsoft Academic Alliance
• SolidWorks: we can set this for your machine and get you connected to our key server

You are responsible for maintaining your own machine, and we can help you. It is critical that you get a system that is not some piecemeal hodgepodge of components because such systems are difficult to maintain and keep running. This computer is supposed to last you 4 years!

Suggested Minimum Specifications

• Pentium® M, Intel® Core Duo processor
• Windows XP Pro or Vista operating system or Tablet PC operating system
• MS Office 2007, which can be bought on campus
• 2GB RAM, 60GB hard drive, CD/DVD
• 802.11g wireless
• Extended warranty, 3 or 4 year, including screen replacement
• 2GB USB Flash drive
• Firewall and antivirus software; UA has this for free!
• Backpack to make it easy to carry your laptop while you are on campus
• Ethernet cable to connect to the wired system in some study rooms and in the residence halls
• Long-life battery, 4-hour minimum

FAQs

Am I required to purchase a particular brand of computer?
No, this is 100 percent your call. The UA Bookstore has agreements with many vendors and purchases through this agreement can be serviced at the Service Center attached to the Bookstore. The software that we have will run on Windows platforms, and we have significant experience with this platform.

Why do you suggest a Tablet PC -- my handwriting is terrible?
The OneNote software on the Tablet PC is great for taking and organizing class notes. As long as you can read your writing, that is going to be good enough. With the Tablet, you can type, draw and highlight class material. You can annotate instructor notes and handouts. You can annotate team design project reports and share with students who do not have a Tablet. Basically, the Tablet tools are getting better and better to make your classroom experience stronger. You can also just get a laptop with no writing or "inking" capability, but we recommend this feature because it makes life easier.

Can I buy a Mac?
Sure, but you will need to be able to run Windows software. So you must get the windows emulation capability. You can download a free copy of XP or Vista from our Microsoft Academic Alliance website. Even though the probability of a break-in to a Mac system is lower, you still should secure your system using antivirus and antispyware programs.

What if my system breaks?
The office of student computing resources, known as OSCR, which most people pronounce as "oscar," supports a 24-7 help desk. They are the first source of help. If the machine was purchased through the campus agreement, then you can also use the Service Center. Many students have computing expertise, but let's be careful out there. OSCR also runs the computer labs on campus and is a great resource for students.

How do I manage my system?
It is critical that you keep your system free from viruses and spyware, and up to date with the latest software and operating system security patches. If your system becomes infected, the network will detect this and disallow you access. Some of this can be automated and some of this must be done manually on a periodic basis. We will cover this in Engineering 102.

Is the software free only if you have a Tablet PC bought through the Bookstore site?
The UA software listed above (such as MatLab) is free for all computers. It does not matter where you buy the machine or what type of machine it is.

If I get a Tablet PC, what operating system should I get: XP, Vista or Tablet?
We recommend the Tablet OS if you have a Tablet PC. The campus is moving slowly to Vista but the majority of student systems are currently XP. But don't worry, we can move you easily to a new OS because we have free access to XP and Vista through the Microsoft Academic Alliance.