Computer engineer

[duragezic]

Yeah I did most things at school. I used PSpice late at night at home a couple of times when I wasn't going to go to school just to use it for a couple of minutes. And though I did dual boot linux for a while, I did most programming at school on their linux machines. If I really wanted to do it at home, and I wasn't running linux, I would just SFTP in to the CS server, download my code, make my changes, upload it, then SSH to get a command line to compile and execute. When I got away from linux development, like my last semester was Java, I just installed Netbeans at home and did most development there.

For Windows programs like MATLAB, Eagle Layout, etc, I could use Remote Desktop and it was quick enough. But again, for significant amounts of work, I'd just actually go to the school.

So for most of the software required, it's going to be too expensive to have yourself. And most of the first couple of years labs will require him to actually go to the lab to use the hardware and software.

I only needed a good computer for gaming. I mostly wrote lab reports at home, which requires only the most basic machine. So really, I don't think he'd need anything more than his current laptop, especially for first year. I'd tell him you'll get him one next year, or if he wants something else now like a gaming desktop.

I didn't go to State though. Although I went to a far superior Michigan University for computer engineering.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Scarpozzi
I would hold off on getting him one until he knows what he's going to need from his professors and classes. He has a decent laptop now....

If you hold off until he knows what specs he's going to need it will save you from running into problems later. I've got a Lattitude D620 and plan on getting a D630 or whatever comes out next to replace it. When it comes to laptops, you have to make sure you buy from a company with outstanding support....laptops just break. It's what happens when you move a computer around, subject it to different environments (hot & cold), and there's always the screen crackage or the droppage. Dell's Complete Choice plan covers you no matter what.

likewise a lot of college purchases are made far better waiting for the first day of class, talking to the prof first, and/or talking to those that took the course.

I did this and I probably saved over $1000 in not having to buy books that really served no purpose other than being profitable to someone somewhere.

 

[0roo0roo]

no need for new laptop first two years
he just has to survive the weeding process.

 

[Leros]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
no need for new laptop first two years
he just has to survive the weeding process.

I never saw this weeding stuff. I was taking engineering classes and needed a computer from day one.

 

[RESmonkey]

I'm getting Alienware or a Dell. *puts on flame suit*

About that serial port thing, no new laptops have it. Is it really necessary?

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: Leros

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
no need for new laptop first two years
he just has to survive the weeding process.

I never saw this weeding stuff. I was taking engineering classes and needed a computer from day one.

what computationally intensive l337ness were u doing on the first day?

word processing?

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo

Originally posted by: Leros

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
no need for new laptop first two years
he just has to survive the weeding process.

I never saw this weeding stuff. I was taking engineering classes and needed a computer from day one.

what computationally intensive l337ness were u doing on the first day?

word processing?

lol at that guy. must have grad'd at University of Guam.

 

[smack Down]

Originally posted by: RESmonkey
I'm getting Alienware or a Dell. *puts on flame suit*

About that serial port thing, no new laptops have it. Is it really necessary?

For computer engineering yes, or you will be stuck using the lab PC with a serial port or hope a USB to serial port works correctly.

 

[RESmonkey]

USB to serial port, eh? Hrmm... why would there be a problem with these?

And yeah, I'm a CE major.

 

[sciencewhiz]

Originally posted by: RESmonkey
USB to serial port, eh? Hrmm... why would there be a problem with these?

And yeah, I'm a CE major.

Many microprocessors use different serial control signals for things like reset, and not all USB serial adapters support all control signals. Also, because the data needs to be packeted, it will be slower, at least 2x slower and depending on the protocol and adapter, it could be many times slower then a real port.

SIIG makes a good PCMCIA serial card, which works much better, as do several other companies. It's harder to find a good Expresscard serial card, but StarTech makes one that works great for me. http://www.amazon.com/StarTech...&qid=1211763428&sr=8-4


I agree that his existing laptop is great for now, and in a year or two, he'll have a better idea exactly what he needs and how he'll use it.

 

[CTho9305]

Do you really do computational work on your own machine? I did very little heavy lifting with my PC throughout my BS or MS in electrical & computer engineering - that's what computer lab machines are for. SSH/VNC... your personal computer just needs to be fast enough to be a dumb client. No software license / configuration hassles. A lot of the software doesn't even run on Windows / Mac (unless you want to compile it yourself / use cygwin and deal with unsupported setups).

 

[Skipholiday]

thanks again for all the info.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Thinkpad. It will last 8 years with heavy abuse.

 

[JJChicken]

Originally posted by: OdiN
pffft....just tell him to make his own CPU, etc.

:laugh:

 

[JJChicken]

Originally posted by: tenshodo13
Thinkpad. It will last 8 years with heavy abuse.

are the lenovos of good build quality as well. I'm thinking of getting an x61.

 

[Born2bwire]

Originally posted by: Scarpozzi
I would hold off on getting him one until he knows what he's going to need from his professors and classes. He has a decent laptop now....

If you hold off until he knows what specs he's going to need it will save you from running into problems later. I've got a Lattitude D620 and plan on getting a D630 or whatever comes out next to replace it. When it comes to laptops, you have to make sure you buy from a company with outstanding support....laptops just break. It's what happens when you move a computer around, subject it to different environments (hot & cold), and there's always the screen crackage or the droppage. Dell's Complete Choice plan covers you no matter what.

Ditto. I was a Comp E and I never had a laptop. Most of the programs we used, like VHDL Designer and other Mentor Graphics/Cadence packages, are not available to students, atleast not at very affordable prices. Everything is provided at the computer labs, a laptop is mainly for personal convenience of having internet access or other trifles on campus. I would wait until your son actually feels the need for a newer laptop.

 

[Leros]

Has anyone blasted the OP for misspelling 'engineer' yet?

 

[Rudee]

Originally posted by: Leros
Has anyone blasted the OP for misspelling 'engineer' yet?

In the University I attended, you went into computer engineering if you failed out of Mech engineering or Comp Sci. It was considered a far easier degree to obtain requiring a minimum amount of physics of math skills.

 

[Leros]

Originally posted by: Rudee

Originally posted by: Leros
Has anyone blasted the OP for misspelling 'engineer' yet?

In the University I attended, you went into computer engineering if you failed out of Mech engineering or Comp Sci. It was considered a far easier degree to obtain requiring a minimum amount of physics of math skills.

That was random....

But, I've seen the opposite. I'm dual majoring in both computer engineering and computer science. CS is much much much easier. I've seen a handful of people who were struggling in computer engineering switch over to computer science.

 

[duragezic]

Originally posted by: Born2bwire

Originally posted by: Scarpozzi
I would hold off on getting him one until he knows what he's going to need from his professors and classes. He has a decent laptop now....

If you hold off until he knows what specs he's going to need it will save you from running into problems later. I've got a Lattitude D620 and plan on getting a D630 or whatever comes out next to replace it. When it comes to laptops, you have to make sure you buy from a company with outstanding support....laptops just break. It's what happens when you move a computer around, subject it to different environments (hot & cold), and there's always the screen crackage or the droppage. Dell's Complete Choice plan covers you no matter what.

Ditto. I was a Comp E and I never had a laptop. Most of the programs we used, like VHDL Designer and other Mentor Graphics/Cadence packages, are not available to students, atleast not at very affordable prices. Everything is provided at the computer labs, a laptop is mainly for personal convenience of having internet access or other trifles on campus. I would wait until your son actually feels the need for a newer laptop.

Yeah, basically to re-iterate the longer post I made above, this is exactly what I meant.

 

[blueshoe]

Originally posted by: hiromizu

Originally posted by: smack Down
Get a laptop with a serial port.

Funny post but really should be taken seriously. Many engineering applications still require a physical serial port.

Yup. My laptop didn't have one so I had to get USB->serial adapter thing. Everything was fine after I got that worked out, but I'd rather have a laptop that came with one.

 

[George P Burdell]

Portability > features.

 

[LtPage1]

Originally posted by: binister
Hmm. Get him a MacBook Pro with Parallels or Fusion.

I am serious. He will likely be doing a lot of work in a Unix-like environment and the Mac is perfect for that. He will likely be using Eclipse for his development environment which runs fine on a Mac... and for those occasions he needs to open a spreadsheet or create a PowerPoint presentation he can fire up MS Office in Parallels or Fusion.

As a software engineer I always thought a Windows or Linux box was the way to go until I switched over to a Mac about a year ago. I have never looked back.

QFT. One of my very good friends is wrapping up his CE degree, and he does UNIX work all the time on his Macs, and also runs XP for when he needs that.

 

[Leros]

Be careful with the Macs. The ECE department at my school only supports Windows and Linux, but not Mac.

 

[Throwmeabone]

One with spell check..

But seriously, IBM.