<p>First, congrats to all those who got in</p>
<p>I'm wondering if freshmen are required to own laptops in UCLA? Are desktops okay too? My major is pre business economics.</p>
<p>Are the computers sold at the UCLA shop really cheaper than on the internet? I guess they wouldn't be as up-to-date as say internet order on Dell.</p>
<p>There is no computer requirement, but it's definitely worth having one. Any type of computer with any OS is fine.</p>
<p>From my experience, the deals at UCLA are no better and usually worse than ones you can find online.</p>
<p>if you plan on buying a mac then ucla store might have better deals (i got the old white macbook + ipod touch for $1050) but for PCs you can generally find better deals online... but beware that all the HP laptops i know have horrible battery life (my old 15 inch last 20 min on lowest setting with no usage after 1 year) and Lenevo seems to be pretty popular among students...</p>
<p>i found a link to Dell with education discount scheme (7% off) on UCLA computer shop, hopefully there'll be better deals</p>
<p>That ipod touch + mac deal was great but it was before they released the 2nd generation touch</p>
<p>yeah it was 1 month before both 2d gen touch and aluminum macbook... but i didn't want to pass up on that deal so i got those 2 older versions...</p>
<p>You don't necessarily need a laptop. My friend has a desktop and is doing just fine with it; whenever he wants to go to a lounge or somewhere other than his room to work though, he usually ends up borrowing mine or someone else's. You can also "rent" laptops from Powell Library, but if you don't return them in time, they'll charge your account (and sometimes they run out of laptops). </p>
<p>However, I would highly recommend having some form of computer with you because a lot of your teachers/TAs contact you through email or their website and it's handy to be able to check that late at night and all.</p>
<p>my brother bought a cheap HP laptop and had alot of problems with it so he ordered a Dell online and now mostly uses the desktop. only uses the laptop when he goes for spring breaks to a friend's place. So basically it doesn't really matter to him in college if he has a laptop or not</p>
<p>it really depends on the person i have to say.... i bring my laptop to classes some times and other times it is easier to take it to study rooms or the lounge or just simply working on your bed...</p>
<p>i think i'd get a desktop + smartphone with bluetooth keyboard for outdoor work (yeah right)</p>
<p>intel i7 rocks!</p>
<p>smartphone for outdoor work? never seen that before... smartphones are kinda hard to do any kind of work on in my opinion... at least with my iphone i can't even seem to browse the internet a lot since the small screen and easy to touch the wrong link...</p>
<p>desktop + netbook is more like it. smartphones are way too small to use for any considerable length of time.</p>
<p>most people have a laptop, but if you prefer desktops then thats up to you. if you're used to a desktop at home, you have to realize its not really the same when you're sharing a room with one or two other people (strangers). you might find the need to do work out of the room either to be considerate (late night paper writing, etc) or just to be away if you end up with bad roommates.</p>