<p>My current laptop has a built in wireless card so I was wondering if it would be a good idea not to get resnet until I see if I have a good connection in my dorm room? How lucky do you have to be to get it? Altho, I'm shopping for a laptop this weekend since the one I have (got as a grad present) is terrible, I didn't want to say anything since it was a present and all but I simply can't use it in college. It's a dell inspiron mini, has 1GB of memory and the keyboard is the worst I've ever encountered, I don't recommend it. The cheap price is not worth it. I'm hoping I'll get store credit or something for it but since it's from best buy and past the 30 day return mark, not likely. I've heard really good things about sony vaio ns but I know some models can't be downgraded to windows xp which I would need to do, right now I'm leaning towards toshiba. HP and dell I might consider b/c many of them are cheap but after all the horrible experiences I've had with this mini I just don't want to look at a dell right now lol. As long as it has at least 3 GB and duo core processor I'll be happy :)
Also, I'm probably going to get a laptop with 3-4GB and I download a lot of manga, watch a lot of youtube videos, and frequently go on mysoju.com (drama watching site) so I was thinking if I do a lot of these things outside of my dorm/residence halls can I get away with having just tier 1, which I would use for school work/research etc while in the dorms?
I hope this all makes sense >_<</p>
<p>you ought to be able to find somewhere on UT’s web site the requirements for wireless.
Why do you need XP?
You can build yourself an HP on the HP website and get a student discount. There are some pretty good deals right now shopping HP on line and getting exactly what you want.</p>
<p>^I’m just really stupid when it comes to computers that’s all, and I don’t need xp it’s just that sony comes with windows vista which I have no idea how to use but some models are able to be downgraded to xp. Also, I haven’t considered building a computer for the reason above and b/c I just have horrible luck when it comes to computers. That dell mini I mentioned? It’s the second one I got b/c the first one was returned b/c pixels were missing. If I just buy a computer from the store I can easily go back and return it for a new one if it’s defective. And with my luck it probably will be…</p>
<p>It’s hit or miss for wireless in the dorm rooms.</p>
<p>But you are limited to 500mb on the campus wireless connection per week. You are doing the opposite of what you are supposed to be doing! Resnet is for large downloads since it is fast and you have a very high bandwidth limit. The wireless is for like pulling up wikipedia during class and is significantly slower and has a ridiculously small weekly limit.</p>
<p>You sound like the kind of person who needs Tier2.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t downgrade to XP unless you need some programs that wont run on Vista. A upgrade to windows is coming out in October and if you are buying now you should get a free upgrade.
Bust Buy might be a good idea - though stepping through the HP buy site you can use a drop down window on every item and figure out what you want, it is simple- you can test build it without buying. Check it out.</p>
<p>My best friend who lived in Jester had had crappy wireless even with resnet. She had tier one and survived every week without going over and she watched A LOT of youtube so it’s possible. I also had resnet (highest one) and my wireless didn’t even work in Kinsolving in my room.</p>
<p>thanks w2k. I’m just dreading asking my parents for the extra money especially after my mother exploded about the $75 convenience fee we got charged with for paying tuition online with a credit card. Also this is completely unrelated to this thread but I’ve always wondered why UT doesn’t take visa? It is after all the most widely used credit card out there. Just curious.</p>
<p>^Comiclover, I’m living in kinsolving too so was that just bad luck for you or does kinsolving just suck when it comes to wireless connections?</p>
<p>The purpose of the convenience fee is really just to say “hey, please don’t pay for this with a credit card, use a tuition loan instead”. It might have ended up cheaper that way too IMO.</p>
<p>And Resnet is usually wired. Buy a $2 ethernet cable and just plug it from the wall into your laptop. Problem solved.</p>
<p>“^Comiclover, I’m living in kinsolving too so was that just bad luck for you or does kinsolving just suck when it comes to wireless connections?”</p>
<p>I think kins just sucked. My roommate never used wireless either. And it also didnt work in the lounges upstairs or was really slow, you had to bring your cable and plug it in if you were gonna study in a lounge down the hall. It works in the lounge downstairs (bottom floor) though. </p>
<p>“And Resnet is usually wired. Buy a $2 ethernet cable and just plug it from the wall into your laptop. Problem solved.”</p>
<p>Well yeah its wireless and wired. Depends on your room, though, on how much you’d use the wired/wireless part. Sometimes the desk is really far from your bed so you can’t sit on your bed and use the internet which can be annoying ( especially for me since I live on my bed).</p>
<p>“use a tuition loan instead”</p>
<p>^ Also helps your credit to do tuition loan. :D</p>
<p>Yeah, my parents have really good credit and quite a bit of $ saved up for my first year of college which is why we had decided to pay with a credit card and use that cashback option we have. Maybe next year when the savings is gone we’ll use tuition loans lol. Also, the casback option is 3% and the convenience fee is 1.75% so at least I get something back for using a credit card.</p>
<p>Ah, that makes sense. Otherwise, if you actually have the cash, just use a EFT from your bank. I have UTDirect linked into my checking account, so I just authorize all my payments straight from there. No dealing with cards at all.</p>