College Bound Better Leave Linux Home............... 10068

I might not quite understand what you are talking about here, but what does it mean that a specific operating system is a requirement for freshmen?

What does the university do to you that requires a Win32 compatible operating system or a specific type of computer?

I can see demand for specific computer systems in computer science and electrical engineering, but certainly the "requirements" for non-technical studies are the ability to make notes, write an essay using some kind of capable word processor, the ability to look at Web sites and open PDF files, and possibly support for whatever wireless LAN the college uses internally.

Any modern operating system can do the above. You can use a Sparcstation if you like or an iBook and certainly some kind of standard PC running Windows or Linux. You can type texts and make them into nice-looking documents with Word, or, if you want the document to look really professional, in TeX.

Why would you inform the admissions department about the computer you bought? Why would they have to approve it? What kind of odd university is that?

What you need is the following:

1. A computer, preferably one of the standard architectures (IA-32, AMD64, PPC, SPARC).

2. A modern operating system, to make it easier use Windows or Mac OS or

3. A Web browser (comes with the OS).

4. Some typesetting software or some such thing that allows you to create nice-looking documents (Microsoft Office, Sun Star Office, Apple Works, TeX, Nisus Writer, Lotus Smartsuite, it doesn't matter, pick what you like).

5. A PDF viewer (comes with the OS, except Windows).

6. Presentation software (Powerpoint or some other such application, usually comes with Officce or Works software).

7. Perhaps some graphics software. Gimp is the most affordable for a poor student.

And if you find an employer who gets excited because you know Internet Explorer or Photoshop (as opposed to being an expert in Photoshop, which is a different matter), take the job, because you won't ever lose it again. The employer is clearly a bit naive.

-- Andrew J. Brehm Marx Brothers Fan PowerPC-Macintosh User Supporter of Chicken Sandwiches