<p>I'm going to be a freshman at VT this coming fall. I've been reading all the threads here and everything people have been saying. I am fully ready to buy a regular laptop with the USB tablet but my father is skeptical after reading the consequences VT displays on their website. I believe its more to scare students into buying from the bookstore and because Fujitsu is giving them money. But my dad did bring up some good points that hadn't been discussed here. So here are my questions that I am looking for current or past VT students may have answers too and experience with (any links with this information would be greatly appreciated too):
1) The site says if you do not have a tablet then SWAT will not offer any support, is this true or will they fix any computer even if its not from the bookstore or a tablet?
2) Are the tablet functions used throughout all classes and past general engineering? I'm planning on doing mechanical engineering, does anyone have experience with the specific classes?
3) Even with the classes that use the tablet, how extensively is it used? I've heard that its kinda forced into the curicculum but if someone with experience could share their opinion.
4) Does anyone know professors for both general engineering classes and mechanical engineering classes that I could email to get an honest opinion from them whether they extensively use tablet functions and if they think buying a tablet PC is worth it over a USB one?
Thanks!</p>
<p>I can only answer your first question. SWAT, the College of Engineering’s software support program, will only work on tablets. My son does not have a tablet and during the fall semester was having a computer issue; SWAT told him they couldn’t help him and would lose their jobs if they did. However, since he purchased it through the VT Bookstore he was able to work through the bookstore to get it fixed. It was a hardware problem, covered by the warranty and was fixed at no cost to him. The bookstore also provided him with a loaner system while his was being repaired.</p>
<p>You are going against school policy by not buying a tablet and there is a downside to doing so. However, my son is happy with the laptop & USB tablet he bought and felt the advantages of doing so far outweighed the disadvantages.</p>
<p>Thanks for the information. Does the bookstore offer repair on laptops outside of their products (I would assume with a hefty fee)?</p>
<p>They do service other computers for “reasonable rates.” Best talk to them directly to see what they consider reasonable.</p>
<p>I’m a rising freshman, too, but what I’ve heard from my upper-class friends at VT is that the tablet PC is just crap, so as hokiesfan said earlier, you’re much better off with a non-tablet PC and a USB tool instead for your tablet needs. The cheapest available tablet PC on the VT bookstore is about $1370; you can get another laptop with superior specifications and a USB tablet for usually less than $1000, depending on how powerful you want the specs to be, from other retailers, but you might have to deal with worse warranty options.</p>
<p>As far as how much the tablet is used is classes, from what I’ve heard, you don’t use it very often. Some assignments in engineering-related courses require Microsoft One Note to complete, but you’ll only need it a few times your freshman year, and then that’s it. This probably depends on the professor, but in general, you’ll be fine (and better off) with a standard laptop.</p>
<p>After everything I’ve found online, I am ready to buy just a regular laptop with the Bamboo USB Tablet. Its just a matter of convincing my father. He is most concerned that the professor is going to be expecting me to have a tablet and will look down on me for not having a convertible PC and that I won’t be able to complete all the assignments properly since the university is requiring it.</p>
<p>The professors will NOT check the specifications of your laptop. It would be too impractical. All they care about is that you complete the assignments requiring One Note (if any). The Bamboo tablet is just fine. Generally, it’s easier to take notes with your keyboard, or in some cases, pencil and paper, than with a tablet.</p>
<p>Thats what I figured. For notes, the tablet doesnt offer anything I can either type or just write myself in a notebook.</p>
<p>dfmlege: I took Engineering Design: ENGE 1104 during the spring semester. I went to my scheduled lab/recitation class and the first thing the TA did was go around the room and check who had a tablet and if MATLAB was installed. He had a clipboard and was making note of who did or did not have those things. No one in the room had a USB Tablet, so I can’t speak for that, but one guy did have a Mac. He wasn’t able to do the assigned activity since he did not have the software.</p>
<p>OP: </p>
<p>As for my own personal opinion:</p>
<p>I hate my tablet. I bought the Fujitsu Lifebook T900 last year because of fear from the “Deviation from the Requirement” page on the computer requirements website. I honestly believe it was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. Let me just name a few things:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The touch input x and y axis switch and it is impossible to write on. You literally have to reboot the whole computer and sometimes that doesn’t work. After about 4-5 weeks of not being able to use my tablet functionality, one of my engineering friends said that the bookstore posted a driver update for the T900. It fixed the issue.</p></li>
<li><p>The battery life is a joke. Last semester (Spring 11), I had Physics at 8 a.m. Then I had Calculus II right after that at 10. I wasn’t near an outlet in Physics so I had to do everything on battery. By the time my Calc class started, my computer was completely dead; Not sleep mode, not hibernate mode, but completely dead. Luckily my classroom had outlets built into the table and I was able to charge my computer in class. I would say some people aren’t so lucky. I have a friend in Mechanical Engineering that bought the tablet in 2009. If he unplugs his computer from charge, it lasts 3 minutes on battery. This was at the start of 2010 when I was a freshman. Now it probably doesn’t 30 seconds.</p></li>
<li><p>For some reason, the keys on my tablet pop out really really easily. I have had to re-insert keys several times. It is a pain if you are trying to type something and all of the sudden a key isn’t working.</p></li>
<li><p>If you change your major like I did, you are stuck with it. I bought the computer for Engineering, I’m now a Biology major. Does Biology require the crappy tablet? Absolutely not. They prefer the Macintosh operating system; the computer I wanted in the first place. What luck, huh?</p></li>
<li><p>The software on this computer installed perfectly when I booted it up for the first time. I haven’t installed anything on this PC that wasn’t from Virginia Tech or the Department of Engineering. It blue screens like every other day. I’ll shut the lid on the tablet to switch between classes or to move to the library and when I open it back up, instead of being in sleep mode like I have it set to do, it blue screens the PC and shuts it completely off. When I turn it back on, I get a “Windows has encountered an error” dialog box that tells me I blue screened. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Honestly, I got so sick of the tablet after about 2 weeks in my courses that I didn’t even bother turning it on in class. I kept it in hibernate mode and used it when I was around a power source. I started printing off the notes and doing everything in pencil/pen as it was easier than worrying that my computer was going to die in the middle of an important lecture. </p>
<p>Verdict: I think you should do what you originally intended to do; buy the regular computer + USB tablet. If you want to convince your dad, show him this comment thread. Show him what actual current/former engineering students think of the craplet.</p>
<p>james, was this the only time a professor checked everyone’s computers? Did the TA actually penalize people for not having the exact requirements? The Mac user would understandably lose points for being unable to complete the assignment, but I’m pretty sure the professors just want you to complete the assignments, whether it is in class or for homework. They shouldn’t care about what tablet you do it on, and obviously they can’t check if your tablet has 4 gigs of RAM or a 7200 RPM hard drive.</p>
<p>Although it’s possible that you could run into a really strict TA, it’s much more likely that your TA would be understanding if you had an external tablet. My TA played Winter Bells in class, he said that was one of the best uses he found for the tablet.</p>
<p>Hey, I’m a freshman at VT who’s taking summer classes.</p>
<p>You guys should know that you CANNOT use an external USB tablet!!!</p>
<p>My advisor specifically told me this when I was registering for classes, and she also said that if you do use an external tablet, you may fail the class.</p>
<p>Here’s the proof on the VT website (see the second question!!!)</p>
<p>I’d say to just buy the regular tablet to be safe. My Lenovo has been working fine so far.</p>
<p>[Tablet</a> PC Requirement Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) | <a href=“http://www.eng.vt.edu%5B/url%5D”>www.eng.vt.edu](<a href=“http://www.eng.vt.edu/it/faq]Tablet”>http://www.eng.vt.edu/it/faq)</a></p>
<p>I disagree with mcroson. Any external USB tablet can complete tablet-related tasks just fine, despite what the FAQ may say. The disclaimer for deviation from the requirement states:</p>
<p>Students who deviate from the computer requirement and therefore [cannot participate in a specific course, complete a course assignment, or participate in the classroom where computer use is expected, without additional effort on the part of the faculty or the college, will be assessed any academic penalty deemed appropriate by the course instructor.]
Students who deviate from the computer requirement and choose another hardware platform and/or operating system are still required to purchase the Engineering Software Bundle
Students who deviate from the computer requirement and choose another hardware or operating system platform shall not receive technical support from any College of Engineering information technology personnel.
Students who deviate from the computer requirement and subsequently require repairs for their computer will not be eligible for College or departmental loaner hardware.</p>
<p>The FAQ may have a point in saying that external USB tablets are less intuitive, but it still does the job respectfully enough. The time it takes to get used to USB tablets is desirable to the frustration of dealing with a tablet PC that’s notorious for breaking rather frequently. Again, your professors or TAs won’t bug you about it (if they do, insist that you can complete all of the assignments just fine with your current equipment), and you certainly won’t fail classes just because you have a laptop that actually works.</p>
<p>Admittedly, I’m not speaking from experience, as I am a rising freshman too. My opinion is based on the experiences of upper-class students from VT that I know, as well as common sense. Personally, I’m buying a regular laptop from HP, along with the Wacom Bamboo external tablet on newegg, because it would be approximately $400 cheaper than what the University Bookstore is offering with its cheapest tablet PC, but any laptop that can run Windows 7 64-bit will do the trick. Heck, a Mac laptop will work too, because you can always install Windows 7 on it with Boot Camp.</p>
<p>mcroson, how are you feeling about your Lenovo tablet? If you finish your first year of college with your laptop still intact, I would appreciate it if you could describe your experiences with the laptop, because Lenovo could be a superior brand for tablet PCs, for all we know.</p>
<p>I feel like an advisor will always say that you have to do what the college requires and nothing else since they are paid to say whats best for the school. Also, they probably think that when you say that you are getting a regular computer you’re not going to have a USB tablet and that is why you can fail your classes.</p>
<p>dfmlege:</p>
<p>The part where I said you could fail a class because of an external tablet came from my counselor, not the Virginia Tech website. I do agree that an external USB would be much better, but I was specifically told that students have had to use a withdraw fail because of it. So, you can use it, but at your own risk.</p>
<p>Anyways, I do own the Lenovo X220T. I believe it does have the longest battery life for all tablets. Along with that, I also use a splice battery, which allows me to have enough battery to last the whole day (I believe it’s like 16 hours). The splice battery cost me an extra $250, but definitely worth it.</p>
<p>Also, it’s not really a Lenovo, it’s more of an IBM product because Lenovo bought out IBM’s PC section two years ago. If you’ve ever used a ThinkPad (IBM product), then the X220T is kinda like that.</p>
<p>Things that I’ve found I like about the Lenovo X220T:
Great battery life (even without the splice battery)
Good responsiveness to the pen
It’s pretty fast
A lot cheaper than Fujitsu or HP
5 finger touch sensors</p>
<p>Cons:
sometimes doesn’t respond to touch (better than the others I’ve seen)
It’s vertical pixels are somewhat limited
Only has USB 3.0
small screen (about 13", but that’s normal for all tablets)</p>
<p>mcroson, thanks for the heads up and info about your tablet. It’s good that you’re enjoying it so far, but it appears as if you’ve only had the tablet for no more than a couple of months. If your tablet manages to last the entire first year, then great.</p>
<p>What your counselor said about failing because of using USB tablets still sounds bogus to me, however. Do you know if she went into any more detail into why using the external tablet forced students to withdraw from the class? Is it because the professors were ridiculously strict, or because the students had difficulties using the USB tablet? When I pasted the disclaimer about the deviation from the requirement, I was highlighting that professors will penalize you only if you cannot complete the assignments. External USB tablets are capable of completing those assignments, and therefore, the professors shouldn’t care how you do it. If they do care, I’ll repeat: insist that you can still complete the assignments with what you have. </p>
<p>I perfectly understand that there’s a risk with skipping the tablet PC, but I’m going ahead with it anyway, mostly because of money. I’m relying almost exclusively on financial aid and scholarships for tuition and fees, and my parents can’t afford to purchase another laptop; thus I’m paying for my laptop with my refunds from an online retailer whose laptops are cheaper than what VT offers. I’m trying to save as much money possible, which is my motivation for getting the external USB tablet.</p>
<p>IMO, HokieHappy, if you do decide on a tablet PC anyway, make sure it’s not a Fujitsu. Those are the worst brand for tablet PCs.</p>
<p>EDIT: I recommend you do a search on “tablet” on the forums. There’s lots of good information about this topic. For example: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/virginia-tech/1151193-any-way-get-around-tablet-pc-requirement.html?highlight=tablet[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/virginia-tech/1151193-any-way-get-around-tablet-pc-requirement.html?highlight=tablet</a></p>
<p>General consensus is that you should just get a USB tablet.</p>
<p>dfmlege: The TA told the students that if they couldn’t do the assignment, there was no point in being there that day. He pretty much told them to leave if they didn’t have the “Department” requirements. I think I got a pretty strict T.A. The only problem that I could see would be the recitation/lab sections. The lectures have way too many students for the professor to go around and check everyone’s computer. Every computer in the room is supposed to connect to DyKnow and get the notes that way. Sometimes the professors will ask you to use the tablet to the write the answer to a question in your notes and then submit it. I don’t see how it would be any different to do it on an external USB tablet.</p>
<p>I talked to the folks at Tech about these tablets. And the one thing that I see as the MAIN benefit (whether or not you agree with the requirement) of purchasing these tablets from the VT bookstore, is the damage warranty. For 4 years, I don’t have to worry about my son’s laptop getting run over, or falling off the bed, or whatever. He has a problem, the bookstore fixes it. To me, that’s actually worth a few extra dollars up front. </p>
<p>Also, the table that we will most likely get is an HP - and it’s a very highly reviewed one…tons of good reviews online. I’m not sure I understand the benefit of buying something else from somewhere else, and then dealing with the possibity of the student being w/o his laptop while it’s being sent off for repairs. What am I missing?</p>
<p>Is there any student or parent of a student that has used a USB tablet? i would like to hear their experience in class.</p>
<p>VTmom, the obvious benefit of buying a laptop outside the university bookstore (for me at least) is that it’s cheaper while providing better specifications at the same time. It’s true that the VT bookstore offers superior warranty and support options, but it’s not worth the extra cost for me. It’s somewhat risky, but I can always rely on my current laptop as a back-up; technically I don’t even have to get a new laptop, but the screen on this one is cracked, and repairing it is so ridiculously expensive that it’s easier to just buy a new laptop.</p>