<p>oops, I was focusing on the age of the machine, not its type. I agree that a laptop is far more desirable.</p>
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<p>Actually, I was thinking about the age of the machine. I do have an old laptop I can send with him. Aside from the graphics card (for gaming), the laptop is a little more powerful than his desktop.</p>
<p>Maybe I’ll send him with his desktop (which he wants to keep), and get him a cheap laptop. I’m getting the feeling that anything that runs MS Office reasonably fast will be fine. Also, if he needs a faster computer by Junior Year, it will be cheaper to wait until then to buy him another cheap laptop (two $500 laptops - now and Jr Year, rather than one $1000+ laptop now).</p>
<p>Thanks for your thoughts. Any more thoughts would be appreciated. We have a while to decide.</p>
<p>A netbook (like the Asus eee pc) might be a great purchase to supplement a desktop. They cost ~$300 and are getting pretty popular around campus.</p>
<p>A word of warning on laptops - a spilled drink usually destroys them, soaks right down through the keyboard to the battery. This happened to my child’s roommate. The desktop is more resilient in this respect. Ideally, have both. A laptop for portability when needed. A desktop when in room relaxing and surrounded by other kids with sloshing drinks . . .</p>
<p>^ A lot of laptops nowadays – the high-end ones, at least – have spill diversion mechanisms, so that the fluid just drains onto the desk. My Lenovo, I’ve been assured, can withstand quite a dripping.</p>
<p>@sewhappy</p>
<p>I have both a laptop + desktop (I’m a bit of a tech nerd), but having both can cause some headaches (having to send papers back and forth + so on).</p>
<p>The simpler approach might be to set your desk up so that you can “dock” your laptop. Some models (ThinkPads for sure) have actual docks you can buy, others (MacBooks) can be very “dockable” if you get an external keyboard/mouse + monitor. Either way, the setup lets you keep your laptop closed + out of harms way on your desk.</p>
<p>^ Excellent idea just<em>forget</em>me. Son has a MacBook. I will suggest we look at putting together such a configuration this summer. Not only was the roommate out a lot of money when his laptop was ruined by a spilled drink but he also lost a great deal of work on a paper. Bad scene!</p>
<p>^ Exactly the reason why one should get dorm insurance (or whatever they call it) which even covers spills.</p>
<p>fizzy soda</p>
<p>it strikes when you least expect it</p>
<p>Can’t beat the MacBook Pro… slowly but surely I’ve converted all my roommates to Apple and no one’s looked back</p>
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<p>Understatement of the century ; )</p>
<p>I was initially overjoyed with my acceptance but now, I have some doubts about my decision. Is it true that students at Harvard College are less likely to be accepted to Harvard graduate schools because of the faculty’s desire for diversity? I have always been interests in KSG but I’ve been hearing that it would have been wiser to attend a different school as an undergraduate since I want to attend graduate school there. I know that this is a long range question but I would really appreciate some insight. </p>
<p>Thanks for answering.</p>
<p>my brother is a graduate of Harvard College and KSG-(years ago). I would take advantage of the KSG while you are an undergraduate.</p>
<p>@Gypsy_rose</p>
<p>Harvard is the best-represented undergraduate institution at all of the Harvard graduate schools that I’m aware of.</p>
<p>The belief you refer to - “you have to go meet new professors in grad school” - might be held by some in the FAS PhD programs, but I don’t think it really applies to the Med/Law/Business/KSG schools.</p>
<p>If Harvard is your first choice (best fit) school, don’t let a desire for Harvard grad school keep you away.</p>
<p>For the electronic tech nerd Harvard students on here - a question: What is the optimal TV configuration for a dorm room? Son is a Harvard student (science smart but alas a kluge with electronics) and we want to set him up with a TV for next year - he has worked very hard and never asks for stuff and we just want to . . . his roommates have come up with lots of other great stuff and this feels like the right contribution for him to be making. Anyway, what works well? We hear basic cable is $40/month? True?</p>
<p>Just a heads up: I wouldn’t (have) be(en) too happy if one of my roommates had set up a TV in our common room. It’s kind of intrusive and distracting. There are lots of places to watch TV in most college dorms without having it in your room, and everyone has YouTube and Hulu via their computers.</p>
<p>^ ahh but not gaming . . . sorry, all of them are expressing keeness on this. Perhaps not quite the scholar that you were . . .</p>
<p>I don’t think individual rooms (or common rooms) have cable. S’s suite had a TV (bought cheap from the pile in front of the Science Center in freshman year) that is used mostly for games.</p>
<p>The TV adjustment will be interesting for my daughter. She, because of me, is used to background noise during most of her basic studying. Brother, who is into technology, has suggested that she set up a second monitor beside her MAC and she can slingbox, youtube, Hulu or even play a DVD while using the main screen on her laptop for studies. I know that does not solve your gaming situation but if you are solely looking for a TV for gaming or DVD’s then you do not need cable. My son just graduated college with a software engineering degree and has been and will be into gaming for relaxation. His grades were terrific and he landed a nice job despite his hobby. Fortunately, his freshman and sophomore year roommates were tolerant. Junior & senior he was in a 5 bedroom apartment and it was not an issue.</p>
<p>For my son and his roommates (premeds with extremely high average gpa among them, btw) it’s about gaming and SPORTS, especially the latter. We are realizing that Cambridge is cold and dark throughout most of the winter and having the room inviting and pleasant is important.</p>