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Frequently Asked Questions:
No. You don’t need to have your own computer, but many students feel that owning one is convenient. If you do not bring your own computer, having a 1GB or larger USB key and a portable external hard drive can be very helpful in storing and carrying necessary files along with you. If you do bring your own computer, you can do homework, access the Internet, use email, or make recreational use of the computer in the comfort of your own dorm or apartment. While it is clearly more convenient to do individual work in the comfort of your own room, engineering students at Cornell participate in many team assignments and projects. Meeting at a computing facility on campus will often be expedient, especially since the computing facilities have access to a vast array of (expensive) engineering software running on fast computers connected by high-speed networking. Will I be doing a lot of schoolwork on a personal computer? Absolutely! The computer has revolutionized the world and engineering is no exception. Almost every academic course you take will require the use of some sort of computer technology. The computer will also become a larger part of your life here as you use it to type your papers, compile and analyze course data for class assignments, schedule activities, send email, check websites, and use the Internet as an essential means of communication for both work and play. Many families find email to be the most convenient way to stay in touch with students at college, and some have even started using webcams to talk with each other. We constantly maintain and modernize our computing facilities in the college to make sure that each student has access to necessary computing power. Engineering’s ACCEL (Academic Computing Center in the Engineering Library) maintains high performance computers (Windows XP Pro) stocked with engineering course software and general purpose software. Cornell Information Technologies (CIT) also maintains public labs both in the College of Engineering as well as other places on campus. (You can visit http://www.cit.cornell.edu/computer/labs/ for locations and descriptions of all labs on campus, including ACCEL and the CIT Public Labs.) In addition to these public computer facilities, there are local computer facilities in most College of Engineering departments; you may be completing assignments for many of your upper-level courses on dedicated computers in these facilities. If I buy a computer, should I get OS X, Windows or Linux? Buy whichever one you prefer, but investigate what software is needed by your department. Most of the engineering departments recommend Windows, with the exception of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences and Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, which recommend either OS X or Windows. You can also think about buying a PC with multiple operating systems. Linux in particular is cheap to add to your system. The system can be setup as multiple boot or running multiple virtual systems simultaneously. This will require additional RAM, disk space, and possibly additional CPU power. If I buy a computer, how, where, and when should I buy it? Many students buy their computers online or at a well known dealer near their home. You can take advantage of the academic discounts at The Cornell Store for computer systems from major manufacturers like Dell, Lenovo, Apple, and HP. They also offer academic pricing for many popular software packages! Some students order computer parts by mail and assemble computers themselves. Keep in mind that the longer you wait, the more technology will progress so the faster and cheaper your computer will be. The minimum recommendations provided by CIT are adequate for most academic purposes like word processing and email. If you have a machine that meets their minimum characteristics, it is not essential to upgrade right away. However, some engineering applications may require more computing power than the recommendations by CIT. (Remember, public labs with powerful computers and software packages are always available for your use.) Some guidelines are offered below for minimum computer specifications, as well as recommended desktop and laptop specifications for new computers. Minimum Specifications
Recommended PC Desktop
Recommended PC Laptop
 Laptop or Desktop? Laptops and desktops both have advantages and disadvantages. One obvious advantage for a laptop is portability. Some students bring laptops to class to take notes, and newer Tablet PC models even offer handwriting recognition for note taking. You can also take your work with you when you meet outside with your classmates. There are, however, hidden pitfalls with laptop ownership. It is often a hassle to keep the laptop charged during long hours in lecture – a good reason to buy an extra laptop battery. In addition, laptop portability for you also means laptop portability for thieves. Students with laptops need to keep an eye on their computers to minimize the risk of theft. Also remember that laptops may feel heavier day-to-day in your backpack than they do for the few minutes at the store. You may want to invest in a security cable for your laptop to keep it from being stolen. Desktops generally have higher performance than comparably priced laptops. This often means faster processor speeds and larger hard drive space. Many students also find that regular sized keyboards, larger monitors, and optical mice in desktop system are nicer to work with than their laptop equivalents. If you will use your computer mostly in the dorm room, desktops are easier/cheaper to maintain and upgrade. Desktops are also more powerful for demanding computing tasks. On the other hand, desktops take up more space in a dorm room than laptops. If you have to bring your work elsewhere, you have to send your files over the network or bring a copy on a USB key, CD or DVD. They are also more difficult to bring home over summer and winter breaks. Another option is an external USB/Firewire attached drive, which also serves as a great backup of your important files and data. These options can be added later but sometimes starting out right is easier. When choosing between a laptop and a desktop, do your homework. Try to see what kind of computing lifestyle fits you best. Do you work on the go or do you like to concentrate in one place? How important is having all your files with you? Will the processing power of your computer be important to you? You should ask yourselves these questions and many more when making your decision. As a side note, ACCEL has high performance Lenovo Thinkpads available for student loans if you need a laptop to use. You can also borrow portable video projectors for presentations. Many courses will require word processing and spreadsheet software. The most popular office suite is Microsoft Office, and the campus store offers Microsoft Office 2007 Professional for student select pricing at $170. You can also use the alternative OpenOffice suite, which is downloadable free for Windows, OS X and Linux. OpenOffice has very nearly full compatibility with Microsoft Office files. Microsoft's Office 2007 defaults to new file formats which are unreadable by earlier versions of most office software. You should also make sure you have virus protection software, an active host firewall, and up-to-date patches of all your software including the OS (operating system). All Cornell students are given a free copy of Symantec Endpoint Protection with their Bear Access 2009 CDs. Make sure you install this on your computer and keep the virus definitions up to date. Bear Access 2009 (from CIT) comes with software for email, web access, and custom Cornell programs to check your grades and enroll for courses. Instructions for obtaining and installing Bear Access 2009 will be provided during orientation week. How soon will my computer investment become obsolete? As long as replacement parts are available, your machine will be able to do what it did the day you took it out of the box. Newer, bigger, flashier applications will come along that may make you pine for the newest model, but you can write, compute, and print for many years with older technology. Make sure your computer has RAM expansion slot(s) so you can add more memory when needed. The resale value of your equipment will drop like a rock; so once you buy, you don't want to replace too soon. If you aspire to having the fastest, meanest, most powerful number cruncher in the dorm, you can probably outspend your neighbor today. But enjoy your status while you have it; someone will have a faster one that costs less next week. Though we live in the digital age, some of your classes will still require you to hand in paper copies of your homework and reports. While the cost of quality personal printers continues to come down, printers still take up precious desk space and have to be stocked with paper and ink. CIT offers many monochrome laser printers available all over campus with CIT Net- Print. ACCEL also has professional high-quality monochrome and color laser printers for your use. In addition, ACCEL has sheet and slide scanners to digitize your documents and 35mm transparencies. Some students also have digital cameras and digital video cameras for their computers. New models reach the market almost monthly, with higher resolutions and more features. However, most digital cameras have more than adequate resolution to take pictures for work or play. What about email (electronic mail) and Internet access? As mentioned earlier, the Internet and email have become vital links in the Cornell community. You will use email and the Internet to get course announcements, collaborate on projects, download the latest homework assignments, and check your grades online. You do not need to own a computer to have access to your email and the Internet. There are computing labs and kiosks all over campus where you can check your email online. In addition, Cornell’s RedRover wireless network (802.11 b/g) is available in most buildings around campus. CIT will provide you with a NetID (username) and a temporary password during orientation. You may receive a packet by mail with your NetID and a PIN along with activation instructions. You will be asked to complete a short tutorial on the Cornell computing system, and your account will become active. Linux is another operating system, like Windows or OS X. Versions that run on PC and Mac hardware are available. It is not an officially supported system at Cornell, so using it as your sole OS will take some additional effort on your part. It can share a machine with Windows, OS X or both at the expense of additional disk space, so you need not commit completely. It is open source, so you can actually look at the source code if you are so inclined. Linux has strong similarities to UNIX, an OS widely used in the engineering field. An astounding number and variety of applications come with a Linux distribution, including free clones of some popular Windows applications. Software is available (about $70) to run most Windows executables under Linux. Free (VirtualBox) and commercial (Vmware or Parallels) software is available to allow entire Windows or OS X systems to run on virtual hardware simultaneous with Linux. Much of the free software available in the PC community actually originated in either the Linux or UNIX worlds. For hardware issues, we recommend that you keep your machine under a service contract with your vendor, unless you have the knowledge to do your own maintenance. Laptops especially can be difficult to get repaired in a timely manner without a service contract. CIT does have some hardware information on their website, such as firmware, drivers, and vendor contact information. Software: CIT has information on their website for Windows and Mac OS issues. They also run a help desk that you can call at (607) 255-8990; drop by CCC Room 119 for help in person; or e-mail HelpDesk@cornell.edu They will naturally be better at general issues than specialized applications. But they will always try to help you or direct you to sources for more help. Security: CIT provides Symantec Endpoint Protection software that includes antivirus, firewall, and anti-spyware capabilities on the Bear Access 2009 CD. CIT has outlined some steps to greatly improve the overall security of your computer . Also remember that a well worded Google search can provide many good help resources for virtually any issue. |
