Students entering Rensselaer as freshmen this year are the second class to be required to have laptop computers; as of this fall, all freshmen and sophomores, including transfer students, are required to have laptops. The laptop chosen for this year is the IBM ThinkPad T20 model 2647-41U. The ThinkPad comes with a special set of preloaded software which includes Windows 98, Office 2000, Maple 6, and LabView.
The majority of the computers are being distributed Sunday, August 27, as part of Welcome Weekend, with Resident Advisors in the residence halls bringing students in groups to pick up their laptops, security cables, documentation and backpacks. From there, students will proceed to a classroom where staff will assist them in configuring their machines for use on the campus network.
At the time this newsletter went to print, over 90% of the incoming class had signed up to receive the ThinkPad, with another much smaller percentage choosing to bring their own machine.
During the first week of classes, Academic Computing Services will offer short courses for those students who would like to learn more about using their ThinkPad. Please refer to the article "ACS to Offer Laptop Start-Up Sessions" for more information.
As the semester gets underway and you have problems or questions about using your laptop, please contact the ACS Help Desk locations by stopping by in the VCC, CII 3111, or in Warren Hall, phoning ext. 7777, or by directing e-mail to consult@rpi.edu.
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