<p>I thought it would be helpful to post some tips for all you incoming freshman that could be added upon as the summer goes by.</p>
<p>Don't forget to bring or buy an ethernet cord! Many freshman hear that we have wireless in the freshman dorms. However it is important to note that the wireless is neither as fast as ethernet nor as stable as the ethernet. During the school year many people would call saying that something with the internet is broken and coincidentily they were freshman using wireless. Do not spoil yourself with the wireless if you want stable internet!</p>
<p>Sorry that I haven't posted- been busy.... Will do some things when I get up tomorrow...
However if any of you are interested, I did a project for my RA class that was primarily aimed at freshmen. It is basically a spoof of Outdoor Magazine but for stuff in the dorm... Please feel free to e-mail me- my e-mail address is <a href="mailto:tbarruec@mail.rochester.edu">tbarruec@mail.rochester.edu</a> and I will send you the file.</p>
<p>Some things that I have thought about:
Especially for those living in Hoeing/Gilbert- make sure that you get a bright lamp for your room! These rooms only have one light that is near the door and it is not bright at all, so unless you like living in the dark, I suggest that you get a lamp... I got one of those tree lamps from Walmart and it has worked really well.
LLBean has these really nice shower caddies to bring to and from the shower that can store all the things you need. They have a hook so that they can be hooked wherever you please.
Bring flipflops for the showers. I know it sounds weird, but this is one thing that is definitely not on any packing lists.
I suggest you bring a printer with you. Yes there are printers at the University Information Technology Center but it is annoying to have to go there every time that you need to print something.
On the topic of computers, do NOT buy a computer yet. Wait until the last weeks of July/Early August to buy one and make sure that it is Santa Rosa based. Also, do NOT buy HP computers- the computers are pieces of junk and their customer service is horrendous. If you are looking for a compact, I suggest buying the Dell XPS M1210 (The support for XPS computers is in America!). Also I suggest Asus. Apple seems to work as well. If you are getting either Dell or Asus, remember that we get an academic discount for them so make sure that you get the discount!</p>
<p>hopkinslax, what is "Santa Rosa" based? What is Asus? (Is it a brand?) Is Rochester on Vista? Is there any advantage to buying a computer (particularly an Apple) through Rochester's IT department? And why do you suggest waiting until July or August to buy the computer - just for sales/specials?</p>
<p>what makes you so against HP? I've heard only good things about them. on the contrary, i've had plenty of terrible experience with Dell's customer support</p>
<p>Santa Rosa based laptops are intels new chipsets- basically more futureproof. They basically must have everything that is needed for current operating systems. Also the front side bus on the computer is faster 800 mHz compared to 667.
Yes, Asus is a brand. They make a large amount of the motherboards that exist in computers today and they have a small but established computer manufacturing division. The computers are extremely reliable. Well liked.
I actually for work for the IT center as a student leader and we have discussed Vista. We recognize that there is probably going to be 800+ students coming into the school year with Vista machines. I have been working with Vista since the beta came out and I am very comfortable with it and so have several other consultants- so you will not be left out of the loop.
The advantage of buying a computer through the IT department is basically the discount. That's all. The tourguides tell everyone that we know how to fix those computers better and that is a flat out lie because since we are software based, everything is the same.
I suggest that you wait until July/August because of future proofing. A better established platform for vista (Hardware I am referring to) should be set by then. It is fine to buy it now, but to make it last as long as possible I recommend you wait.</p>
<p>Why I am against HP- their customer serrive is horrendous. Their reliability is not the best also. I am not recommending all of Dell's- please recognize that. The only two lines are the XPS line and the business line. The rest are not that good (but they have been getting better).</p>
<p>Thanks, hopkinslax. I know you mentioned Apple in one line in your initial post - what do you think about going to a Mac? Is Rochester's network all Mac-compatible? I'm always loathe to buy a 1.0 release of any software, so I'm a little bit wary of Vista.</p>
<p>Yes- we work with macs- no problem in that category. Macs are growing in popularity and I would have to say that the percentage of students using macs is probably about 25%... Up from I'd say 5% or so a few years ago.
The only downside- they are expensive, but you get excellent computers and great service with them. (The discount knocks $200 off the price of them)</p>
<p>if you're getting a mac, what i heard is that you don't want to get the cheaper one...so, instead of the regular macbook, take the macbook pro and it will be a lot more reliable...i have a toshiba satellite, and i think it's really good...</p>
<p>hopkinslax: heh, I actually wanted to build my own pc, but my parents were too apprehensive about that... anyway, I was looking around and found ABS (abs.com). do you have any experience with them? from my research, they seem good and have much better ratings than hp/dell. I was reading about them today and was surprised to find out newegg was originally a subsidiary of them (though now they're the subsidiary of newegg).</p>