To those who did computer science / engineering did you actually need a laptop...

to those who did computer science / engineering did you actually need a laptop? in lectures i prefr taking notes with pen and paper, and ive got a desktop and a rtablet already. any input is appreciatEd

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>going to lectures
lol

i listened, occasionally took notes, but hardly ever. lectures slides are uploaded and a fair amount get video or voice recorded. or just bring a voice recorder yourself

I almost never brought my computer, took notes, and participated in class. I found pen and paper more freeform,and the action of writing helps me retain information better

this desu senpai

I brought laptop onto campus with me for downtime between classes but during lecture handwritten notes are king.

I only brought my computer when I knew I was going to need it. I typically just took notes on paper and later went over slides if needed.

Notes in a good notebook with a decent .09mm lead pencil and a good separate eraser is all you need for lectures for those great professors who don't use PowerPoint slides.

For those that do use PowerPoint slides, just print them out before class or follow along on your laptop if the classroom isn't a computer room.

taking notes is one of the most obvious signs of being a turbobrainlet

The classes I took usually split the lecture and lab into two parts. Pen and Paper for lectures. They let us use the computer labs, so a computer was not absolutely necessary, but everyone had their own laptop since the school provides great discounts at the bookstore.

Well considering the exams were on paper and pencil, I used pencil and paper to take notes and do the design process of coding assignments.

Muscle memory and what not.

>not writing notes in LaTeX
I'm only telling you nerds because you're not competing with me

So what's the point in school? Do online comp sci programs have any merit if physical lecture is pointless?

No because HR won't give you a shot if you don't have a degree.
Realistically, you're better off for your own personal skill development teaching yourself online and with solid technical manuals for whatever languages you're learning when it comes to CS. The American university system is a clusterfuck and a lot of public universities underteach for CS because they're more focused on spreading out your education over the required 120 credit hours for a degree. Unfortunately, you're sort of stuck with it until that system collapses typically because:
>Most people don't have the drive and organizational skills to teach themselves up to a professional level.
>Most companies that people use to get their foot in the door aren't going to hire you without a 4 year degree regardless of how good you are.

There are programs like Launchcode which work with companies that will at least look over your portfolio and give you a shot, but those aren't common.

?
thats what i have but in three lab lecture and tutorial

this i s good for industry bot jobs

I used to bring the laptop just in case I needed to study after lectures in the labs but making notes is the stronger way of studying (in lectures)

Group projects

I just finished my MSc without a laptop. The only times a laptop would be useful was for presentations (which didn't happen very often, usually as a summary of a group project), but I just asked the person who was presenting before me.

>did you actually need a laptop
When you were in high-school you didn't take your own computer. When you get a job you don't bring your own computer. Why would anything in between be different? Especially when you're paying out of the ass to be there?

A laptop is not necessary but often practical.

You don't actually need it for lecturs or labs as those either don't require a laptop or they are in computer labs where you can use the machines provided by your school.

The only thing where it might be good to have one is group projects, where you can't always count on the computer labs to have free PCs.

Maybe try the first semester without and then see how it goes.

You definitely don't need a new expensive laptop. Any $150 ThinkPad will do just fine.

Unless your school is outdated massively. Say running Windows 7 on 2GB of RAM, then no, you shouldn't need one.
I'd consider trying out a tablet with an ACTIVE (that's the keyword) stylus as a store or if a friend has one and see how it is for you taking notes.
A lot of people swear by digital notes since it's overall usually easier than printing out slides, writing on them, etc.

But any computer with a decent funding should have good computers.
In fact, some idiot professors believe that computer note taking is bad and forbid laptops.
Yes, even in computer science classes.

You don't need a computer for most things in life. Even for your homework. Just go to the library and use their computers.

>ou don't need a computer for most things in life.
but how else would i reply to you

1) yes you need a laptop. how the fucc are you gonna do work.
2) don't go to lectures.

a surface might work, haven't tried it though.

>2) don't go to lectures.
i dont get this. a few people are saying it. i have 7 lectures for 4 subjects, and then the labs, tutorials and workshops.

Thinkpad

hand notes help you learn. a laptop helps you distract yourself. if you want something digital and have the discipline to not start surfing the interwebs when you should be taking notes, some device with pen input will also do.
visiting classes is not always necessary but almost always more efficient unless the lecturer really, really sucks. do yourself a favor and try to visit all classes which aren't a blatant waste of time.

>there are people who just don't go to classes or lectures
wait what

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>did you actually need a laptop?
Yes, it was needed as a driver for rendering presentation projections.
I still didn't buy one, just borrowed one from the pile they prepared for this purpose whenever necessary, just for duration of the thing (2-4 hours).

Ask around if they have a pile of laptops to be borrowed from when you need to display presentations, and you can finish with desktop alone no problem.

Or maybe phones are powerful enough to do it now. I've no idea desu.

>do yourself a favor and try to visit all classes which aren't a blatant waste of time
only one that seems shit to me is the "intro to engineering" one which goes over how to not be autistic basically. and i think theres a third or fourth year law unit

>i dont get this. a few people are saying it. i have 7 lectures for 4 subjects, and then the labs, tutorials and workshops.

how hard can it be to understand?

>attending lectures
>alternatively, don't

pick one,
pick option 2.

I attended almost every lecture in college, but of I could go back, I'd probably skip more than half of them. Many classes were just straight up useless.

i mean why skip them, are people really paying to do useless courses? why not change to a better university or conversely do the actual course

choose engineering over (((compsci)))
maybe a system analyst
you'll thank me later

yes you do need a computer to keep up with your grades and assignments. if you're entering university and need a laptop get an underpowered one because it will be less destracting and you can do the stupid shit they make you do on a potato.

>bullying people for how they learn

Yes, get one. I got through CS engineering with a 4 core, 6GB ram, 768p piece of shit by HP for 500€.

read the summarized lecture notes and study prior exam questions.

lectures are a waste of time. you aren't paying for the courses, you're paying for the diploma.

I was gonna say I'm unsure why I need to explain this to you, but then it dawned on me what kind of person you are.

>not taking notes in an exercise book
scientificamerican.com/article/a-learning-secret-don-t-take-notes-with-a-laptop/

>but then it dawned on me what kind of person you are
being?

>rajalatop.com

if you can't type faster than you can write then you shouldn't be doing CS

Hand written notes is quicker and easier to denote complex non text diagrams / mind maps.

Work on stuff on your own. Before your class starts (like maybe 2 weeks prior) do an online class on the language your doing and get through 3 actual lessons (like, go until it's hard / you have to think, than 3 more). Try to keep that lead on your class. Use the homework as a guide on how far ahead to go.

Also, if you get stuck on homework and find yourself getting confused to why things are behaving they way they are, delete everything and use the knowledge you got to redo it. It will take a small fraction of the time than to unfux a mess. You should never be in a position where you don't know what your code is doing / changing things randomly.

>computer science notes
>in LaTeX
i did all my math notes in LaTeX but cs notes seem pointless

>No because HR won't give you a shot if you don't have a degree.
they start you at about 20-25k less with salary negotiations if you dont have a degree

No. I thought I did but not really. Was easier to get shit done in computer labs for group work and at home on desktop with dual screen setup.

Schools still have computer labs?

When I finished comp sci in 2013 computer labs had already gone extinct and everybody was already (well, had to really) bringing their own laptop to labs.

which uni? seems kinda like theyre shafting poorer studends

A uni in Western Europe, tuition was extremely cheap back in the day and there were pretty generous grants for the poorfags.

Regardless, computer labs with a bunch desktops seems like an incredibly outdated concept.

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cheap cluster computing if your labs good. good for labs.

A nincompoop

I used a pen and paper, it's mostly math and you learn programming alone

The great thing about taking a laptop to lectures isn't the lecture itself but that you can play games and do other shit instead when it gets boring.

That's literally the only reason.

Pretty much, yeah.

I got by quite nicely by using an old thinkpad x220 with Ubuntu

Electric engineering student here. A laptop is nice to have if your school or library doesn't have a computer lab with class specific software installed. I carry my t60 with me so i can work on my electronics/programming assignments during my breaks because the computers we have access to do not have eclipse and eagle pcb installed.

Other than that, i retranscribe my handwritten notes from lectures in plain text files, so i can give them to anyone who missed it without having to make copies. I might use groff or latex to format them to a more printable form.

Again, it all really depends on your access to computers and software at your school, as well as your usual workflow. If you do need a laptop, pick something reasonably small, don't be that guy who lugs a 17'' gayming laptop around.

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I took notes by hand about 70% of the time, the rest on a laptop in four years of undergrad and 3 years of grad. I never once went back and looked at any of them. take that as you will

Just take notes are paper of you program in class they will go to the computer lab

did you have a stroke buddy?

Personally I prefer being able to compile my code and make modifications to see what happens and if it works, but lots of people in my classes only used paper and pen.

might just be repeating what the majority is saying, but pen and paper is vastly superior to typing when taking lecture notes. if you're just worried about taking notes i say its not worth getting a laptop just for that.

there might be group exercises in which a laptop would be nice but there are labs out there full of pcs to login on and collab with your team mates.

the only time I used my personal laptop at uni was when i presented my disertation.

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huh

>so i can give them to anyone who missed it
Spotted the

Handwritten notes, but I bring a laptop to campus to do my work. I can't work at home

I don't have a degree and got an okay tech job (database management) making 55k. It's not a ton but I'm in the south east US where living expenses are super low

I've been here for 2 years now. If I ever need to find another job in the same field, do you think that experience would make up for not having a degree?

> Don't take notes or go to class
So none of you have actually gone to school for engineering?

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Partially, and more the longer you work. Once you've accumulated enough relevant work experience your degree means diddly squat.

Fpbp

You only need to go if you actually haven't done any learning on your own like until you get to like 3rd year where the classes are more branched based. Unless you in general branches in which case you can get away with never going

I take notes in class doesn't mean I needed a laptop to do it. To pass uni you just a function laptop like second gen i3 8GB of ram can get you through uni. This was for comp eng. This assumes you have a desktop with better specs for sims though.And rendering.