<p>Does anyone know what type of laptop Villanova gives out? I use a mac now and will most likely keep that for personal use, and the one they give for classes. How are the ones they give though? And is the campus mac friendly at all?</p>
<p>The laptop every student gets is a dell. After sophomore year they replace yours with a new one which you get to keep upon graduation. My brother manages fine with just the laptop and an external hard drive; he configured his himself and doesn't have any problems. I have no idea if the campus is mac friendly as far as I know everyone just uses the dell laptop.</p>
<p>I don't believe the campus is mac friendly.....VSB is pretty stringent on the use of the dell...specific programs loaded for different majors. Son who is a freshman hasn't had any real problems with his(I think he had something go wrong, but not enough for him to get excited or anything) and my D (who graduated in 05 from VSB) still has hers.</p>
<p>Laptop Specs</p>
<p>Windows Hardware Dell D630:</p>
<pre><code>* Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz processor
* 14.1" WXGA+ LCD
* 160 GB Hard Drive
* 128MB NVIDIA Video Card
* 8X DVD+/-RW
* 2 GB Ram
* Integrated 10/100 Network Card
* 802.11 a/g wireless card
* Battery 9 cell - Lithium Ion
* A/C Adapter
* Network Cables
* 4GB USB Flash Drive
</code></pre>
<p>Windows Software: (Preloaded)</p>
<pre><code>* Windows XP Pro Operating System
* MS Office 2007
* MS FrontPage 2003
* Adobe Reader
* Internet Explorer
* McAfee Virus Scan
* RealPlayer
* QuickTime
</code></pre>
<p>P.S. going to be odd going back to xp...and also erzepnicki they give a link to the apple store for some reason...maybe you have the option of buying a nova approved mac instead? "To access the apple.com/villanova webstore click here (Welcome</a> to the Apple Store - Apple Store (U.S.)). Note recommended bundle for Villanova specified MacBook configuration. This configuration does not include Microsoft's Office 2008 for Mac. Please add Office 2008 Student Edition to your order if you require the Mac version of Microsoft Office."</p>
<p>BTW, those specs are for the laptop the Class of 2010 received (turned in old laptop, got a new one for Junior year) and the Class of 2012. They'll update it probably in March or April. The earliest you can get it is in June- after you accept, you can sign up to have it shipped to you early. There isn't a charge of this (unless tuition as a whole counts). If you don't sign up for early ship you'll get the laptop during Orientation.</p>
<p>I'm not sure if they'll switch to Vista- I think Microsoft is still allowing XP downgrades to Volume Licensing customers (e.x. Villanova).</p>
<p>Villanova is pretty Mac friendly. There are some PC exclusive apps- I haven't seen any engineers use a Mac, for instance- but I really haven't seen anything in the business school yet that isn't Mac compatible, and I've seen a couple of kids bring Macbooks regularly into class. I think Communications majors actually get Macs when they turn in their PC at the end of sophomore year.</p>
<p>The campus store also sells Macs. Most students don't buy them because they already have the PC.</p>
<p>Build quality is good, I've had a couple of hardware issues, but a Dell technician is on campus during the academic week and they fix any problems for free (warranty, as long as you weren't outright negligent). They'll also give you a loaner laptop free of charge as long as you bring it back on the day your laptop is fixed (they call) or the day after; if you don't, it's $50 a day per day late.</p>
<p>great. thanks everyone</p>