<p>Lugging around dektops? What are we, planning LAN parties?</p>
<p>I say get a laptop with a nice external hard drive... that is again, unless you plan to play CS or something to that degree.</p>
<p>If anyone's worried about lap top security, I recommend a product I have, so far, been too lazy to pick up. :)</p>
<p>Lo-jack for laptops, formally Computrace.</p>
<p>Something I found online- take advantage of Yale's agreement, if it works. :)</p>
<p>Are there any other more reliable products for laptop security? Tracing down a computer is quite time-consuming. Is there anything that stops people from physically taking the laptop? Like a lock or something that connects the laptop to a stationary object?</p>
<p>its a big honking thermaltake, 2.6 p4 oc'ed to 2.9., nice 865pe asus, gig of cosair, ****ty ati 9600, almost a .5 TB of serial storage</p>
<p>I think that lo jack is incredibly reliable, and I'm not sure about time, but some cases may be quick, some slow.</p>
<p>anything software based, like that lojack, is useless to me.</p>
<p>every laptop ive ever seen in the last 6 years or so has had a lock port (look on yours, a small hole with a K next to it). Recently, the locks designed to fit that have been shown to be ridiculously easy to unlock with ballpoint pens. <a href="http://www.laplocker.com%5B/url%5D">www.laplocker.com</a> seems to have locks that dont suffer from this.</p>
<p>I think with any of the locks, it's a theft deterrent, not an absolute prevention system.</p>
<p>I am going to be an astrophysics major at Berkeley, and am wondering if brining a computer to Berkeley is even necessary. Would most of my work just be done on paper and notebooks, or should i get a laptop or bring my desktop?</p>
<p>Many/most students do not take their laptops to class, but many/most DO take them to the library to work on there (and perhaps print out from too).</p>
<p>Also don't forget about going home for vacation and breaks. You will find it much easier to bring your laptop with everything on it and the programs you use customized to your preferences than e-mailing mailing things to yourself, or copying files to a key.</p>
<p>If you listen to music or play games or watch DVDs having your laptop on the trip or at home will be appreciated. And though most schools have VPN or remote internet access, it may be easier to get things on your already configured laptop then setting up at home. </p>
<p>If you're really concerned about theft, ask your parents to get a rider on their homeowner's policy for your laptop. Should cost only $25 -35 for a year. (and of course, do backups to space on your school's server or CD or portable HD).</p>
<p>it's really much better to have some type of computer. there are always assignments that require a computer. for example with physics, hw assignments are done through the internet. of course, you could use a computer center in the dorms or in a library, but it's a lot more inconvenient for a consistent basis.</p>
<p>I have a random question. What's so good about a duo core processor? Does it run twice as fast or handle twice as many programs?</p>
<p>this is a point of contention among many computer enthusiasts. no, it will not really do anything 'twice' as fast, but there will be a significant improvement in certain things, especially in more-predictable commands (photoshop filters for instance).</p>
<p>theres no reason (except heat kinda) to not get a dual core. its going to be standard eventually, theres nothing that single cores can really do better than dual (and eventually more than two). think of it like, imagine if they found a way to put two engines in a car, working side by side. there are some drawbacks, and it wont make your car twice as fast, but there will be noticeable improvement.</p>
<p>Duo cores are only like $50 more. For the performance, it's worth the buy. Duo Core will be most useful for multitasking. For running one application, it may not be that much faster. Furthermore, in the future most the processors (at least the good ones) will be duo core.</p>