<p>Hi everyone! This is my first post here. I’ll be a Frosh at Bama next year (I’m NMSFDad’s daughter, by the way), majoring in Chem/Bio Engineering. I’m also in the CBHP. I’ve been looking at some laptops for college and had a few questions. Many of the computers that have appealed to me lack a number keypad. Is this important to have in CBH or ChBE?</p>
<p>Also, I’ll be getting the NMF iPad, and some people have said that it is nice to have a Mac along with it (i.e., because the programs sync with each other). However, I tend to lean more towards the versatility of a PC. Am I correct in saying that an iPad and a PC will work together just fine if they’re linked via the Cloud?</p>
<p>Has anybody had a particularly trusty laptop that they’d recommend for college?</p>
<p>This is a quote from Dr. Haskew, Professor and Department Head
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Director of the Electromechanical Systems Laboratory </p>
<p>" regarding computing platforms, I strongly suggest a PC notebook. This will maximize his ability to do school work away from the engineering buildings. The iPad does not provide this level of capability, and we are predominately a Windows based operation."</p>
<p>Welcome TNTide5! Congratulations on becoming a CBHer. My D received the Dell Latitude computer last year for being an NMF. It has served her well in CBH and EE. She told me that it isn’t necessary to have a numberpad. HTH and Roll Tide!!</p>
<p>I know a few people going into engineering who have/plan on getting Macs, so I don’t think it’d be a problem to have a Mac even though a PC might be more versatile.</p>
<p>A very smart man and fellow parent of an incoming UA eng. student told me the extensive research he did suggested buying a Thinkpad. I’ve found other threads that have backed this up (Rose Hulman required their students to have the same Thinkpad). </p>
<p>I see you’ve already stated you’d prefer a PC, which I think it the way to go (over a Mac). There are just some engineering applications that won’t run on a Mac period. </p>
<p>This discussion has some good information and you can find others by googling engineering notebooks</p>
<p>As long as the programs that you will be using are compatible with your computer, it really is a personal preference as to a PC or Mac being better for you. I’ve had no problem using iPod Touches with a PC and currently have my Windows and Android devices linked via Firefox and Google. </p>
<p>As I learned to type using the numberpad, it’s an essential feature whenever I purchase a laptop. It’s annoying when some computers, particularly those in UA computer labs, automatically have Num Lock off.</p>
<p>If a student decides on getting a Mac, it is a good habit to always use Windows-compatible file formats when sending homework, resumes, etc. You’d be surprised how many students send documents saved in the Pages format, which takes a long time to open when using Windows.</p>
<p>If you decide to go with the PC, I recommend the Dell Inspiron with a 15.6" Screen. it has a number pad and I use windows 7 with intel core i5. It is a really nice laptop, so if you’re browsing through them, check it out!</p>
<p>So that’s settled, then. . . I am decidedly a PC, and I’ll probably pass on the number pad. @Chardo - yes, that was something that concerned me; I really need a lightweight laptop. I found out the hard way this summer when I carried the family’s ancient laptop to Governor’s School. (probably weighed ten pounds, and I had to lug it across the entire campus of UTK for tech help. Ugh.)</p>
<p>@Class2012Mom - Awesome, it’s good to hear a professor back it up. I will definitely check out the ThinkPad - some of the models look like they have some pretty advanced features that are just plain neat! And I will be sure to go for a 64-bit version. Thank you for all of your help!</p>
<p>I had asked the engineering department about which computer to get my D, and the specs they sent me included both PC and Mac’s, and they said either one was acceptable. My D really, really wanted a Mac, so I hope we haven’t made a mistake in getting her one. </p>
<p>We could have gotten her a good PC, plus an iPad and printer for what we paid for the Macbook Pro.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, my son chose a Dell Insperion 17R 2nd generation. It’s quite a beast. I know absolutely nothing about computers (obviously, if you’ve followed some of my previous posts/questions)! He’s eng’g major and chose it himself after researching. With student discount, very affordable. Personally, it looks very large to me + heavy (at ~ 7 pounds). But, what do I know?..</p>