Hey Buy.com viewers, my name is Michael and I am college student majoring in Biological Sciences. With this year being my final year in college, I know a little about what gets you through college and picked up many tips and tricks along the way.
I believe the most important part of a college student's academic success is his or her work space. College is where you are free to explore and rediscover yourself. So you should have the environment to do school work efficiently, but at the same time, be able to relax and have fun at the same time. I feel so strongly about the following product recommendations because they have been of such enormous help to me during my college education.
First off, the single most important item in college is a good reliable computer (I work in a computer center on campus). I personally own a
desktop computer and a
portable notebook computer. With both computers, I have at least a Pentium Core Duo processor with 2GB+ of RAM and a 256MB video card. I recommend a similar setup for all college students because it definitely has enough power for word processing and regular web browsing, but it packs enough juice for the video games that I occasionally want to play.
I usually work on my desktop machine because I find it more convenient, but I also have the flexibility of working elsewhere if needed with my notebook. I mainly use my laptop as a work-only machine. When I need to study for my exams or have a big paper due soon, I grab my notebook computer and head for the school's library or anywhere else that I feel will make me more productive and relaxed.
You may be wondering why a notebook computer isn't enough - why have two computers to seemingly make everything more confusing? The reason is that I have 2 monitors hooked up to my desktop machine. I highly recommend a dual monitor environment for any college students. I just connect two big
Samsung LCD monitors to my desktop and Windows allows me to easily split my computer desktop across both monitors.
The benefit is like working on a large desk versus a small desk. Having dual monitors lets me display my word processor on one monitor and allows me to research on the internet for articles on the other monitor. I can simultaneously look for information while writing my article without the trouble of flipping from one program to the other. And it just makes things so much easier for daily use. I have my e-mail, music, and instant messaging clients on my right monitor, and my web brower and videos on my left monitor. I can view everything that I want to do all at once and it allows for seamlessly easy and efficient multi-tasking.
I find myself constantly working between different computers; sometimes I use my laptop computer, desktop computer, computer at school, friend's house, etc. And every time I use a different computer, I have data files that I need to transfer over or transfer back. What makes using multiple computers very easy is a
USB flash drive. USB drives let you store all of your important files in one easy storage unit that you can carry anywhere and use anywhere. So I never say, "Opps! I forgot it at home." Instead, I always carry my Word reports, movies, and other files with me. I currently use an 8gb drive because I have to carry a lot of information, but still have a student budget.
