internet access

<p>When we bring a laptop, do we have to pay for the connection (to the internet, etc) or is internet connection, etc, free.</p>

<p>i'd be shocked if it wasn't free!</p>

<p>Yeah, me too, I just heard somewhere that we had to pay for it and cable television. Can any current student tell me whether they pay for their connection and such?</p>

<p>What is this website about???? So we do have to pay for internet? That's ********. I thought every school in america was free internet.
<a href="http://www.law.duke.edu/computer/howto/internetaccess.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.law.duke.edu/computer/howto/internetaccess.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Relax. Read the article.
[quote]
Internet Access from home or other remote locations

[/quote]
Unless you plan on living in a remote location, this doesn't apply. Besides which, did you notice it's for law students?</p>

<p>Internet is included in living expenses; television is not.</p>

<p>Correct. Internet is free, including wireless. You need to pay if you are a law student and you want to get access to the internet through the law school when living off campus. TV is free in the commons rooms, but to have cable piped up to your room it costs a certain amount per month. Lots of students don't bother and stop watching TV entirely because there's a lot to do at Duke other than watch TV...</p>

<p>I don't get why you're so surprised about being charged for cable. I don't know of any schools that offer it for free.</p>

<p>UF does...their dorms suck, but at least they get cable</p>

<p>UF is also not already too expensive. :p ;)</p>

<p>this is true...I should have just went there!...lol j/k</p>

<p>Yeah, I wasn't about to pay for cable... I'm not obsessed with TV enough. Then my roommate decided he wanted it and paid for the whole thing, so I didn't complain.</p>

<p>Then he watched the Disney Channel and MTV every day...</p>

<p>If I ever have to see "My Super Sweet 16" or "Made" again...</p>

<p>My brother next year is planning to have a television... but cable is too expensive. That television is Xbox only!</p>

<p>omg! That's right, MTV is cable...I can't live without MTV!</p>

<p>what do we get if we hook up a TV and don't get cable?</p>

<p>Your antenna might be able to get a couple of channels. I think we've tried it and you get maybe two very fuzzy, static-y channels. Rumors say that Duke actually jams the reception to force a monopoly on us.</p>

<p>I'm sure these rumors aren't true, but that just goes to show you how bad the quality is.</p>

<p>dang...that roomate survey should have asked if we wanted cable, so that I could get a roomate who would be willing to split the cable cost with me...</p>

<p>So bottom line: Internet is free. yay!</p>

<p>Oh yeah, I forgot: Do we NEED to have a laptop? I mean, what happens if you chose not to have one? Can you survive? Does any current student ow anyone who doesn't have a laptop at Duke and it doesn't really affect him. What are the advantages of having a laptop?</p>

<p>Lots of kids have desktops rather than laptops. It's not a problem. Laptops can be carried around to classes and such for goofing off and taking notes.</p>

<p>And, as any good economist would tell you, internet's not free, it's simply "included" in the other costs that you have to pay anyway... like the "free" iPods... but I don't mean to confuse you.</p>

<p>Yes, internet is free.</p>

<p>The real advantage to having a laptop over a desktop, for me at least, was the ability to take it to the library if I couldn't work in my room and I needed to write a paper. I actually bought a large-ish laptop thinking I probably wouldn't carry it around too much, but I was sadly mistaken - now I'm cursing myself for not getting one of the really little ones because I find myself carrying it to the library/class/West/K-Ville (when I was living there) all the time. </p>

<p>On the other hand, sometimes if I didn't feel like bringing my laptop, I would just use one of the (many) available computers in the library. So it really is your call. I happen to think that a laptop is a good idea for college students just because of the fact that you are ABLE to carry it around, but I also know plenty of people who survive with desktops.</p>

<p>Another thing to consider: I don't know where you live, but it might be significantly more difficult to get a desktop computer to Duke, and then you have to deal with either storing it in Durham, or constantly shipping it back and forth...when I came home for the summer, or even over breaks like Thanksgiving when I had work to do, I had all my files with me on my laptop.</p>

<p>For me, my laptop was essentially a desktop... I felt it was too large to carry around places, and if I did go to the library, I would use those computers, just like bandcampgirl. I liked having a laptop because I could bring it back and forth from school to my house during breaks. Towards the end of the year, I realized that I could fit my laptop in my backpack and started carrying it around. I noticed quite a few people in my science classes with large laptops. I'd say it just depends on how much you think you personally would need/use it.</p>