<p>Okay so I realize this topic has been beaten to death but I guess I need to make a purchase one way or another right about now. The website states that external USB pads aren't allowed and that there are consequences for not having the tablet pc or laptop/slate combo. The first point of the deviations from the requirement page reads:</p>
<p>"Students who deviate from the computer requirement and therefore cannot participate in a specific course, complete a course assignment, or participate in the classroom where computer use is expected, without additional effort on the part of the faculty or the college, will be assessed any academic penalty deemed appropriate by the course instructor."</p>
<p>Money is extremely tight right now and will get even tighter as classes approach. Not only that but I'm a transfer student with ENGR 1024 already taken care of and only need the tablet for 1104. I think it's absolutely ****ing crazy that I need to blow more money than I already spent on a good laptop for one single class. </p>
<p>Basically my question is, what are you guys over here at cc doing? Are some of you going to take the risk or do you think there's no way around the policy? Do you personally know of someone getting a 0 or f on an assignment? I would personally try to contact the professor for ENGR 1104 but it's still listed as staff on hokiespa and even then I wouldn't know how to get a hold of his/her e-mail.</p>
<p>EDIT: Honestly either way, I probably can't afford the tablet or slate at this point. I'm looking at the different wacom bamboo tablets on amazon and I'm wondering which model I should be getting. </p>
<p>Go with the USB tablet. The college of engineering doesn’t actually state the consequences of going with the tablet, instead just stating a few reasons why they think USB tablets are inferior, but it will still get the job done according to the deviation from the requirement. No one (that I know of) has ever failed a class just for going with the USB tablet. </p>
<p>Since you’re taking 1104, you won’t need to use the tablet function that often. During lecture, the instructor will ask you to respond on a powerpoint slide using Dyknow; they expect you to use the tablet, but you can just type in your answer using the text box tool instead. Keep the USB tablet handy, as the college of engineering likes to create contrived instances to force you to use a tablet even outside of courses (e.g. signing a document).</p>
<p>The only time I felt screwed for going with a tablet was at the end of the semester, during the project fair. Students who weren’t presenting were expected to go around and take notes on their laptop, carrying it as if it was a notebook. Students without tablet PCs had to place the laptop on a table first, which was extremely awkward considering how crowded the room was, but ultimately it didn’t affect my grade. If you’re taking 1104 in the fall semester, you might not have a project fair since there are usually less people taking the course in the fall.</p>
<p>Also, if you plan to major in computer science, you will pretty much never need the tablet after 1104, aside from the contrived instances I mentioned earlier. If you’re doing electrical or computer engineering, it should be the same. Though I can’t say for sure, many of the design assignments for upper-level courses are done using advanced software tools instead of free-hand drawings. </p>
<p>As for which tablet you should go for, I went with the Wacom Bamboo tablet. It’s roughly $60, and it has served me well enough to complete my assignments.</p>
<p>Chris - tablets are used a little more often in 1024, since there’s more assignments that ask you to draw diagrams, though I occasionally used the mouse and the tools available in OneNote instead. While this wasn’t a problem most of the time, a few assignments asked to do “free-hand” sketches - I didn’t pay attention to the “free-hand” part, and so I lost ten points for using the software tools. Even so, the USB tablet will be fine for most assignments.</p>
<p>As for the model, I don’t remember exactly, but I went with the one that costs $60 or so.</p>
<p>I got the previous model and it has been working perfectly. The one i linked is around $90. You could also look at ebay or craigslist or other places to find it used and/or an older model for cheaper.</p>