<p>Which computer platforms (Windows/Linux/Apple) does the Tech Dept. support? Which computer brands are most popular on campus?</p>
<p>whoop whoop Computing</a>, Networks & Phones</p>
<p>they support windows and mac, not too sure about how much they'll help you with linux, and macs are insanely popular among students</p>
<p>I don't know anything about the support, but when I visited EVERYONE had Macs. I had seriosuly never seen so many macs in one place at one time EVER. It was actually kind of crazy. I think I saw one PC (not counting the ones the university owned) while i was there.</p>
<p>When I visited for an overnight program, everyone did indeed have macs.</p>
<p>I will simply add another concurring opinion: I do not remember seeing a Windows PC.</p>
<p>you'll see one right here...next year.....</p>
<p>What is it with college students and macs? Argh</p>
<p>I agree....i hate them...</p>
<p>My son was an RCA (Residential Computing Aid) last year - I know he was running a dual boot Windows/Linux machine for a while. If you are lucky, you will have your own RCA resident in your dorm, not just assigned to it. They handle the first tier issues (generally printers and network stuff), and will be on campus before classes start getting your house's computing center operational, helping with network and printer issues, and so on. If possible, you will want some sort of warranty on your computer, as support will only be able to tell you that your power supply/hard drive/mother board is DOA, not actually obtain replacement parts for it. </p>
<p>Make sure you have a flash drive or two - very useful for hauling data and papers around, and being prepared for hard drive failures and other catastrophies.</p>
<p>A big reason students get Macs is because they dont run into multimedia errors. Once you get hooked up to the juice that is university broadband, you will no doubt be watching more youtube, downloading more music, and so on (cough adult videos cough) than ever before. Macs in this narrow capacity kind of carry the day as they troubleshoot really easily via the force quit function. Also, the only two things you really need in college are Word and the internet, so this again favors the simplicity of Macs. </p>
<p>Jump disks are a must though. You dont want to have to be dragging you computer around everywhere in bad weather.</p>
<p>Yea. 32gb flash drive ftw!</p>
<p>"Also, the only two things you really need in college are Word and the internet, so this again favors the simplicity of Mac’s. "</p>
<p>Mathematica is pretty useful, too, but I think it is available in the major flavors.</p>
<p>I'd disagree about jump drives/flash keys. The university gives you 1GB of online storage space for intra-university use, meaning it is fast and available anywhere.</p>
<p>and if you have yahoo email, you have unlimited amount of storage, just send it to yourself...lol</p>