However, you might still want one, because

• It can be convenient to work from your residence hall room (or, in the case of a laptop with wireless networking, from anywhere on campus).
• You can do interesting things to your computer that you can't do on the laboratory machines -- like install your own software, experiment with hardware, etc.

To write term papers, surf the Web, send email, and write and compile programs, almost any Apple or Wintel machine will do. However, to get the most out of the educational experience of owning a computer, you should have a machine that is:

• Capable,
• Flexible and expandable,
• Able to run software to imitate the computing environment used in the teaching labs of the courses you will be taking at UCSD. (Most of UCSD's courses use a version of Unix or Windows NT/2K/XP.)

You might want to read the discussion on this general topic on Slashdot.

I used to try to make specific hardware recommendations. But specific recommendations rapidly go out of date as hardware availability changes. So here are some general recommendations. (Note that Apple products are also worth considering. Their main disadvantages are that they cost somewhat more for the same performance, and the releases of Java for Mac OS X tend to lag one version behind those for other platforms.)

• Processor: There is always some range of processor speeds available from chip vendors. The newest and fastest CPU's are the most expensive, and are never the best deal unless you absolutely need their speed and features; and for hacking code and generally doing coursework, you do not need them. The cheapest Intel or AMD chip currently available will be just fine. (If you want to run a Windows operating system, those manufacturers are almost the only options now.)
• Memory: Spending money on more memory is better than spending money on a faster processor. Get 512MB minimum.
• Storage: Any hard disk drive you can buy new will be big enough (I'm not talking about building huge MP3 libraries here). Also,get a CDROM/DVD combo drive.
• Video: Get a XFree86 supported card or integrated video chipset. If you get an inexpensive one, you will be less tempted to spend time playing games.
• Network: UCSD NetOps recommended card, or integrated chipset. If you get a laptop, get builtin wireless 802.11b capability.
• Keyboard and mouse: whatever you like
• Monitor: 15" SVGA minimum. Larger monitors -- 17", 19" and even 21" or more -- are more expensive, but nicer on your eyes. One disadvantage of laptops is that for the same money, they have smaller screens and are not as nice ergonomically to work at for long periods.
• Operating systems: Dual boot Windows XP, and a free Unix (Linux, NetBSD, OpenBSD, FreeBSD )with X

If you are building a desktop, I recommend custom-building your system from components, so you get the educational benefit of knowing what's inside it. If you buy components locally you may get better access to technical advice and warranty support.

You can spend less if you buy a used machine. Also, Dell sells factory reconditioned systems at a reasonable price. Even something as antique as a used 486-66 system with 16MB RAM will work adequately with Linux, if you can find or already have one in good shape. And (of course) you can spend more if you want; a faster processor, more RAM and disk, sound, a high-end video card and a big monitor are nice, but cost more.

A note about operating systems: Windows costs money to buy. Contact swdist@ucsd to ask about campus licensing arrangements, or visit the software section of the UCSD Bookstore. However, since it is not used in all that many CSE courses, having it on your machine is not essential. Comparatively, the availability of free Unix-like operating systems and utilitites, including source code, provides a tremendous learning opportunity, and installing, using, and contributing to one of these projects is highly recommended. The links above or below are places to start:

You can easily install both Windows and Linux ("dual boot") with lots of applications on a 20GB disk (you can also have DOS, Win95/98, BeOS, OS/2, etc. if you want, though at some point you'll want more disk!) and switch among them. Linux installation guides explain various ways to do this.

For more detailed information that stands a chance of being at least somewhat up-to-date, do a web search or groups search on Google.

Most CSE programming courses use C, C++, or Java as languages of instruction, and use Unix environments. If you want to closely approximate the course lab environment, the GNU gcc/g++ compiler, available free with any Linux distribution, is excellent for C and C++. For Java, ports of the JDK for many operating systems are available.

For Windows, C/C++ and Java development environments are available from Borland, MetroWerks, Microsoft, and others.

If you have comments or suggestions, email me at kube@cs.ucsd.edu

Prof. Kube demonstrates his renowned hacking technique