laptop program

[Guest medeng]

the question about the e-curriculum made me wonder, what do current students think of their laptops? I've heard that it is possible to buy your own as opposed to the school provided one, does anybody have positive/negative experiences to share?

 

(i know its still 2.5 months till we hear anything, but its something to think about while i wait...)

[Guest 0T6]

I was talking to the student who gave the tour about that and she said that one MAJOR pro is that the laptops are under warrantee for 4 years so if ANYTHING happens it'll get fixed or replaced.

 

Also, I'm not sure if I heard correctly, but if you're OSAP-eligible, UO will cover the cost of your laptop (could someone verify this?)

 

A con that I could foresee is accidently taking someone else's laptop or something since they all look exactly alike. And the thinkpads aren't the prettiest of laptops, but they work great so I *guess* that matters more

[Guest happyshortie]

hey guys,

 

my sis was eligible for osap so her lap top was free

 

happyshortie

[Guest FrenchyMed]

Yes it's true - if you get OSAP you get $3500 (if I remember correctly) from Ottawa U, which covers more than the laptop...

 

I have to admit that I was not convinced of the usefulness of the laptop in the beginning. Now, I can't live without it!

 

There is a way to buy your own laptop but I don't know of anyone who has done that. The laptops are set up for us with all the appropriate software. And when we have a problem, we can bring it to MedTech and get it fixed and get a loaner in the meantime.

 

I have not heard of anyone grabbing someone else's laptop by mistake. If you're really worried about that, you can "personalize" your own with stickers... :b Let's just say that people are pretty attached to their computers and rarely leave them lying around unattended.

 

The main drawback is being able to surf the internet and using MSN during class. It's easy to get distracted.

[Guest tim23]

when I was at Ottawa I was told that the laptops were overpriced, and I don't doubt that cuz $3500 is a pretty steep price even if its top of the line. Personally I'd rather take my chances without tech support and keep an extra $1000-$1500. Software for students is pretty cheap, anyone know any particular programs they're refering to that would bring the price up?

[Guest KJ]

I think it is because the laptops are IBM's....aren't IBMs usually more expensive than other laptop brands?

[Guest tim23]

I looked it up, the most expensive IBM laptop on their website was $5,999-so maybe you're right. Anyone know the specs on these computers? lol I'm kinda curious now to see if it really is a rip off.

[Guest medeng]

IBM's are usually more expensive, and from what I've seen of them, they aren't necessarily worth the money... they aren't the most reliable laptops. You are covered for the 4yrs (and you probably aren't going to keep it too much longer than that, laptops generally become outdated faster than desktops) but it would be nice if you weren't getting it fixed all the time!

[Guest g22g]

In my year the laptop was the T40, this year's have the T42 from IBM. It's an IBM school so all of the tech support is seamless. Having said that there are some projects on the horizon. The first is going with a Tablet PC for taking notes. I hope they would get there act together and get a tablet PC that contains an optical drive (CD/DVD) inside because otherwise you are going to be putting out serious change for a computer that you will need to buy and carry an external CD/DVD drive. Fujitsu sells a tablet PC with an optical drive and IBM doesn't sell any type of tablet so I don't know how that is going to work out.

 

There have been students that have saved 500-1000 dollars by going with a more clunker IBM versions. You can also bring in your own laptop and they can download the computer software specifically for PBL. In conjunction you could buy their computer in forthcoming years. But until then the medtech office will not be able to address most of the hardware problems with your computer.

 

You are also paying for a Microsoft Office software on top of the computer purchase which in years past was 550$.

 

All of what I have said could change next year with new rules or conditions so after your acceptance ask for more details.

 

Cheers,

g22g

 

edited for clarity

[Guest mm201]

$3500 for a IBM T42 that's pretty overpriced.

www.superwarehouse.com/p.cfm?p=413043&CMP=KA18442

[Guest FrenchyMed]

Actually, our laptop came down to $3095.80 and those of us who qualified got $3500 from Ottawa U to cover the expense (and more).

When you convert the price of the laptop from the website in CAN$ and add the extra features we get and the "free" computer support from MedTech, the price difference is not as impressive...

I thought about getting my own laptop but things are way easier this way. In the French group, I think only one student this year came in with his own laptop, which was a previous ThinkPad model.

In the long run, the price difference is insignificant and you can save yourself a lot of worries.

[Guest nby]

even $550 for office is expensive.

The standard academic rate is $100/license.

[Guest tim23]

your right about office i was just going to say that. What is the story with this tech support?? Everyone keeps talking about it, I've had my Toshiba lap top for 2 years and haven't needed tech support once, do these computers break down all the time or something, or are some students a little computer illeterate? I just don't see modern laptops breakdown too much, maybe I've just been lucky?

[Guest medeng]

I just asked this in the OMSAS forum, but thought maybe I should ask current UofO students if they know the answer... Since the laptop is added to your tuition bill, does it also show up on your T2202A? That would be a nice tax break if it did!