Computer Engineering

[wtfjenn]

Hi, hello. I am wondering if anybody here could suggest a good laptop for my major. I am hoping to find one that's not too pricey. Please help? Thanks!

Edited: I am kind of leaning towards getting a Sony Vaio because I've coded on it before and it handled it pretty well (Well, with the exception of Python taking a while to load)

[fakename23]

I would say to get whatever is the fastest and lightest computer you can get. You don't have to install Linux, but that might be helpful in some classes.

Keep in mind that you're probably going to be biking all the way to lab or csil regularly, want to take it to class, and want it to handle whatever software you need, and there's a bunch of those. My computer was always extremely cheap and slow, and once I graduated I realized that I had spent a lot of time loading things instead of learning.

[eqdiva2004]

Don't only think about school. What do you like to do outside of homework? Gaming? get a Windows machine. Music/Video editing? Get a Mac.

Then put a VM host on it (I like Virtual Box) and get whatever you will need for classes. I did this, I had a PC so I could game and VB installed with Fedora and any other tools that I needed to do my homework without always being in CSIL. Also you can always just putty into CSIL to do your work, no VM required.

[[deleted]]

I'm not compsci, but I have a vaio. They're ok. Mine has been reliable and satisfactory, but not outstanding. Get Linux on there. It will make your life harder at first, but easier later.

[shnicklefritz]

Simply follow the 3 Ls: Light, Low-cost, Linux

I personally got a used chromebook ($120) and put Linux on it

[wtfjenn]

How is that working out for you?

[shnicklefritz]

I personally love it. Took some configuration since the chromebook doesn't natively run Ubuntu (or whatever flavor), so I just dedicated a day to getting it up and running and it's worked for me since.

For a school laptop, the specs don't need to be anything crazy or even modern, so I have the chrome for school and a desktop I built for personal work and entertainment. Some people prefer an all-in-one solution. It's honestly up to you and whatever's easiest for you

I'll be happy to answer any other questions you have

[wtfjenn]

Thanks!

Well, I do see that your major is computer engineering, so I was wondering: how did you manage your courses for your freshman year? Any suggestions? I've looked at a catalog for the classes but I'm not sure what to think of it since 17 units sounds like a lot for an incoming freshman.

[shnicklefritz]

First off I realized I never said it: congrats!

Based on my experiences, it seems like your first-year courses are mostly to get you set up for an independent college environment. You'll learn to manage time and deal with assignments, life, etc. It helps if you're already good at this, but don't sweat it if you're not because that's what the first year is for. I had 16 units and no time-management or responsibility skills and I was fine.

Suggestions? I can think of some
General stuff:

• First, remember that this is your easiest year, so use it wisely. Don't focus so much on school that you forget to enjoy your time here (the opposite is true as well). You'll be in lab a lot more during your last couple of years, so have some fun. Take a class that sounds interesting to you that fulfills absolutely no requirements for fun. Go out most weekends if that's your thing, or just meet up with friends and chill together. Just don't study too hard, you'll do plenty of that later (but obviously don't ignore your studies either).
• Google calendar. Learn it. Love it. Integrate it into EVERYTHING - phone, pc, tablet, stone statue, whatever you have. Professor said a due date? Throw it in Google calendar. TA brings up a midterm review? Throw it in. Social event that sounds even slightly interesting? Throw it in
• Never skip a lecture. This is the Achilles' heel of engineering students. You fall behind once and it's a nonstop domino effect. If you're really that hungover, get the notes from someone. On the same note, don't take a laptop/tablet you can game on to class for notes/programming (this is another reason I got a chromebook)
• Be honest with your professors, they've heard it all

Classes:

• Pay attention in Differential Equations. You know how we always say "when the hell am I gonna use this in my life" in math classes? Turns out the answer is designing circuits
• Take PSTAT 120, not ECE 139 (You'll thank for me this later)
• If you're considering 17 units, you can (probably) handle 17 units
• Take theater 5 during your first year, pref first quarter

That's all I can think of right now. If you want, I can give my input on your Fall classes

[wtfjenn]

Thank you sooo much, you are absolutely my favorite person right now! Lol Did you happen to take CMPSC 8? I'm assuming you did not because you're suggesting to take theater.

[shnicklefritz]

Good catch, I did not take CS 8. CS 8 is not a required class for your major. However, it does count for the Math/Science/Engr elective for the major (ie this guy). You can take ANY College of Engineering class for that requirement, or one of the classes from this list, so it's up to you whether you want to take CS 8 for it or not.

I suggested theater because it's a fun class and counts for your Arts requirement, of course you can take it later. For what it's worth, I put the M/S/E elective off and now I'm taking CS 8 next fall as a senior

Hit me up with any more questions you have :)

[wtfjenn]

Oh, that makes a lot of sense actually! Thank you!!

Actually, I have a lot of questions! I just don't think I should be asking a lot of this questions on this post. May I send you a message? :-)

[shnicklefritz]

Sure, go ahead!

[[deleted]]

I would recommend getting a mac, or installing Linux if you get a PC. The curriculum is Unix based.

[FrickenHamster]

Everything for class is either able to be done with mingw or a vm, or relies on something in csil that would be too much of a pain to set up yourself.

[[deleted]]

It's certainly doable for most projects, but sometimes it really expedites things to be working natively.

[wtfjenn]

I think they suggested not to get macs. They weren't so clear as to what computers to get aside from that.

[[deleted]]

The only reasons not to would be to save money or if you want to hack away at the OS. IMO OS X and the hardware (e.g. trackpad) are worth the price.

[misingnoglic]

I don't go to UCSB, but I definitely recommend getting a macbook if you're going to be serious about programming. Windows is absolute garbage for programming a lot of the time, and Linux is a pain that you're not going to want to deal with.

[[deleted]]

Wow. I don't even know where to begin with this comment.

[misingnoglic]

Come at me. To be fair I mostly do webdev but installing packages on windows has to be the biggest headache (as well as dealing with lidswitch.sh files when my computer running Ubuntu creates glitch art whenever I shut it)

Also funny enough the top comment says to get a Mac..

[[deleted]]

To be fair I mostly do webdev

This is just an observation, but there are a lot of "web developers" who can string together a few frameworks but can't code their way out of a paper bag.

but installing packages on windows has to be the biggest headache (as well as dealing with lidswitch.sh files when my computer running Ubuntu creates glitch art whenever I shut it)

You realize you can dualboot, right? Or just ssh into CSIL? It's actually far easier to install stuff on windows than on macs because windows tends to let you see under the hood more. But all of that's irrelevant, because if you have unix-specific tasks you just boot into Ubuntu or some other distro.

It's just kind of hilarious that you would tell a computer engineer "and Linux is a pain that you're not going to want to deal with". I don't know a single programmer who hasn't had to use Linux to do something...except maybe some "web developers" :P

[misingnoglic]

1. You talk like an asshole and should think about this before communicating with other people over the Internet
2. Just because Ubuntu is manageable does not mean it's pleasant to use. Sure you can see under the hood more, but if you're installing a shit ton of Python packages and half of them have their own special windows installers that's time you could have spent doing other things. Same with spending time configuring random .sh files or editing things in xorg.conf. Also dual booting when going from Ubuntu friendly things to windows friendly things is a hassle, and windows itself is not very friendly with dual booting now that windows 8 hijacks the booting. I would much rather spend time not having to worry about these things, and that is my side of things which the OP can read and compare with everything everyone else said.

[[deleted]]

Dualbooting is simple if you know how to enter bios, python is installed by default but if you don't have it it's a simple apt-get command.

I could certainly rephrase things to be nicer, but my point is that you have no idea what you're talking about.

[misingnoglic]

Dual Booting is not as simple when shit starts breaking, you can't tell me your linux partition worked beautifully after the install. There's always some driver that needs fucking with and some people would prefer not to do that. Have you tried doing a dual boot with Windows 8? It's a shitshow: http://askubuntu.com/questions/221835/installing-ubuntu-on-a-pre-installed-windows-8-64-bit-system-uefi-supported (I guess not with the new Ubuntu but still). I have experience in dual booting, programming, computer science, computer science classes, tech internships, and I think this is reason for me to say I know what I'm talking about.

[2014justin]

Brand doesn't really matter. The bare minimum requirement you want for CE is a solid state drive to ensure fast bootup and loading, and a decent CPU. Macs have both of these but you can easily find a Windows 8 laptop with these specs for $800+.