UPDATED: 7/22/09 by K. Decker, 7/22/09 -bds

(In response to a query from an incoming student about computer purchase recommendations)
Prof. Saunders wrote:

The info, suggestions, and price discounts available through the Technology Solutions Center apply to CS and INSY majors as well as to other students. Windows PC's and Macs are both fine. One advantage of a Mac is that it runs a version of the operating system Unix (of which Linux is another version). The central servers at UD run yet another Unix variant, Solaris, and are heavily used in CIS courses. A few CS students run linux machines, which also works well. When you need heavy metal, you will generally be using the central machines or Departmental servers, thus using your own computer primarily as an interface. For this reason, yours does not have to be high end (I won't tell if you fail to pass this on to your parents). In fact it is feasable, though getting rare, to operate without a computer of your own. Access is good at computing sites all around campus including in the dorms.

I add a thought about the age of your computer: If you have available a computer that is a few years old, consider waiting a year or two before purchasing a new one. Then you will have an up-to-date machine in your Junior and Senior years. Also then your purchase decision is much more informed by your experience as to what you really need/want at UD. So while preparing for college, as tempting as it is to start off with a shiny new machine, it is generally more effective to hold off. Also, in CIS we are not excessively prejudiced against old and slow. We love all computers. We take pride in getting the most out of any machine.

Best wishes, see you in the fall, -bds http://www.eecis.udel.edu/~saunders

____________

Dr. Conrad adds:

Dr. Saunders' advice is good advice. I would add the following:

• Consult http://www.tsc.udel.edu/purchasing.html for specific information, on recommended configurations, and special deals available to UD students. The general advice there applies equally well to Computer Science majors.
• Either Windows or Mac will be fine. I like Macs a lot, but end up buying Windows machines because of the lower cost, and because that's what most of my students buy (hence I am more effective if can show them what to do on the platform they are familiar with.) The main decision is financial, and whether you want to "fit in with the crowd", or as the commercials say "think different". (That should probably have been "think differently", but the ad exec wasn't about to let grammar stand in the way of a good slogan.)
• If you end up with a Windows machine, you can download a freeware package called "cygwin" that will give you almost all the benefits of having the Unix operating system on your machine that you get with Mac. In the short-term however, none of that matters, since, as Dr. Saunders said, you'll primarily be using your machine as a way to access the web, and to log on to the central systems via the "ssh" program (available for free download for Windows, and already built into Macs.) See www.cygwin.com for details.
• Though it is NOT a requirement of the CS program, most students find it useful to have a copy of Microsoft Office, i.e. Word/Excel/PowerPoint [either the Mac or Windows version will do].

Regardless of whether you buy Windows or Mac as your platform, you can save some money by postponing your purchase of Microsoft Office until you get to campus; you can purchase a *legal* copy at a *major* discount over even the cheapest prices you'll find anywhere else. See:

http://www.tsc.udel.edu/purchasing.html#software for links to vendors.

The same advice applies to any other commerical software you want to purchase. You'll probably need a copy of your student id though before you can buy through those programs.

Phill Conrad

Asst. Professor, CIS Dept., University of Delaware

pconrad@udel.edu

http://copland.udel.edu/~pconrad

____________

And Dr. Decker chimes in:

1. The Campus has a fairly comprehensive wireless network. For this reason, and also, again, often you are using a computer as a client to access large fixed servers, you may find a portable with high-speed wireless (802.11g/n) to be sufficient and more enjoyable than a desktop in your room.

   [and in response to Dr. Conrad's good advice, and somewhat tongue-in-cheek :-) .....]

2. While certainly not the predominant platform, the Unix base of MacOS X is more popular in CS circles (about 25% of my software engineering students had at least one Mac in their hardware stable, and one group even wrote a Mac-only application). See also http://www.paulgraham.com/mac.html about the phenomenon in general. Apple now has about 20% of the US regulr notebook market, and you can find articles from the Wall Street Journal and USNews & World Report recommending MacBooks to students as the default choice. [Update 2009: I'm now seeing 50% or better Mac laptops in my intro 108 class...]
3. Students running Windows should be aware that they are responsible for keeping their systems virus-free, and that this is perhaps more difficult in an open, high-bandwidth, high-usage university environment than it was at home. As early as June 2005, there was a 50% chance of being infected by an internet worm within just 12 minutes of being online at high speed using an unprotected, unpatched Windows PC. IT services charges $70 for the first cleaning and $100 for subsequent cleanings of an infected PC. Free software is available from the University to help with this and should be used. Unix (Linux or MacOS X) users are also responsible, but there are few (well, actually NONE, recently) Unix viruses released in the wild, and most of these systems are more securely configured out-of-the-box. See http://www.udel.edu/security/index.html for more information and tips.
4. Apples vs. Oranges: In general, cost differences between Macs and PCs are real but less than one might think because people typically compare machines that are not identically equipped.
   
   [July 2007] Apple now uses Intel Core 2 Duo processors, and so Macs can be directly compared to PCs with identical processors and all new Macs can run Windows if needed at full speed either by rebooting or virtualized in a window (remember, MS Office, which is what most people actually do with Windows, has always been available for the Mac).
   
   [NEW July 2009] This year, the cheapest Apple Macbook 13" 2.13GHz Intel Core 2 Duo laptop is available to students for $949. If you buy before September 8, 2009 you can get a free iPod Touch or up to $299 off of any other iPod. The Touch is essentially a handheld conputer that also connects to the University wireless network. This year I would seriously consider the 13" MacBook Pro for $1099 (student price, also with free Touch) as well.
    
5. Apple itself defended the advertising slogan when it was first used 8 or so years ago:
   

   Although some might want "different" to perform as an adverb in this phrase, complete with an "ly" ending, Apple and its advertising agency intend it as a fanciful category, just as we might say "Think yellow," "Think change" or "Think playful."

   Here's an illuminating quote from an interview with George Gribbin, legendary copy supervisor of the Young & Rubicam advertising agency and creator of the ungrammatical but highly successful slogan "Winston  tastes good like a cigarette should":

   "The American language is a good, salty, homespun, colorful language. And it is that way because of the vernacular. There's just nothing like pieces of the vernacular in advertising, or in any other kind of writing. It's not just using the vernacular, it's using the color of the life around you in a fresh way."

   Think vernacular. Think different.

Enjoy! /Keith