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Is laptop a must-have item to study in the program?

Andy said:
Alain, I think the problem with anjuta not compiling is you didn't install build-essentials package. You can type sudo apt-get install build-essentials
These are the packages you need to compile. let me know how it goes

Thanks Andy. I was able to install that package. The real name is build-essential. After that installation everything works. How did you figure that out? I like Ubuntu so far. I was thinking about creating an Ubuntu server now.
 
alain said:
Thanks Andy. I was able to install that package. The real name is build-essential. After that installation everything works. How did you figure that out?
When you mentioned you couldn't compile, I knew right away that you are missing build-essential package because that's the very first package I installed everytime I build my Ubuntu box. It's called essential because you can't compile or build anything without it.
I'm glad you got it working. Have fun with Ubuntu.
 
To bring back this old topic, everyone has a laptop or plans to have one soon?
Prof. Stefanica mentions that he allows students to bring laptops with their code into his Numerical Linear Algebra/Financial Instruments finals so they can use the code they develop during the semester to work on problems.

I assume his classes won't be in a computer lab so you won't have access to your code online. And I'm not sure what others do without a laptop during the final. Do they do all the bond/interest pricing by hand? :smt027
 
Mac laptops are cute and all but I don't know how easily you can find software for what you need on OSX.

Mac these days are pretty decent in terms of price/performance...and the whole total cost of ownership thing. Pretty much all of Macs machines (laptops/desktop/subdesktops/servers) are all using Intel chips now. So you CAN also install and boot up Windows/Linux if you'd like. I have a Mac laptop for almost 4 years now *without* a single issue. I don't even have to shutdown my laptop, all I need to do is close the lid, and when I open it 1/2 hour, a day later, it immediately comes back (no need to wait for it to boot up, etc.)

Don't forget that you get all the cool apps to play with your songs/pictures/digital movies that come completely free with the computer.

Mac OS X is Unix based so you get all the tools necessary for unix developmet, vi, emacs, c++ compiler (gnu), java, python, ruby, subversion, the whole nine yards. It also comes with XCode IDE, which is the a C++ development environment just like Visual C++, except, again that it comes pre-installed (free) with the computer. I think there's also versions of Mathematica, MathLab, Maple for Mac OSX as well.

The entry level MacBook is a *beautiful* 13" widescreen laptop, Wi-Fi (wireless), Ethernet, Blue-tooth (to connect to your phone) ready and comes with all the softwares that I describe, and costs $1049 (with the student discount). The regular price is $1099. Below is a snippet of the specs from Apple.com

Oh, there are also alot of cool features in the upcoming version of Mac OS X (Leopard), which is the reason I'm holding out on buying a MacBook right now....it's going to be just awesome!

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wo/2.RSLID?mco=A4791B5D&nclm=MacBook

Intel Duo Core processor
Built-in Isight (webcam to be used as video chat/conference)
FontRow / Apple Remote (to be used as a media center with your TV)
13.3-inch widescreen display
1280 x 800 resolution
1.83GHz Intel Core Duo1
512MB memory (2x256MB SODIMMs)
60GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive2
Combo drive (DVD-ROM, CD-RW)
 
I have an Apple Power Mac desktop. It's a very reliable machine. However, it has a limited set of business applications. If you want to install Windows onto the new intel-based Mac, you should consider that neither Apple nor Microsoft will support this installation. As a result, if you have any problems with it you have to solve them by yourself.
 
True...it's an option you can play around with. I haven't used Windows at home since I got my Mac since everything I need is on it.
 
Has anyone with an Intel Mac tried Parallels? I'm thinking of giving it a try.

http://www.parallels.com/

Although, I'm not sure if I'll need Windows at all. Currenly I only use it at home if I need to run SAS.
 
woody said:
Has anyone with an Intel Mac tried Parallels? I'm thinking of giving it a try.

http://www.parallels.com/

Although, I'm not sure if I'll need Windows at all. Currenly I only use it at home if I need to run SAS.

I haven't used it myself but heard good things about it. Do you own a MacBook? if so, how do you like it?
 
I haven't used it myself but heard good things about it. Do you own a MacBook? if so, how do you like it?

I will finally replace my 2 4-year old Macs and my 6 year old PC with a black MacBook in then next few weeks (waiting to see if they put the new Merom processor in there). A guy at works has the black MacBook and loves it.
 
woody said:
I haven't used it myself but heard good things about it. Do you own a MacBook? if so, how do you like it?

I will finally replace my 2 4-year old Macs and my 6 year old PC with a black MacBook in then next few weeks (waiting to see if they put the new Merom processor in there). A guy at works has the black MacBook and loves it.

That's awesome. You must be very exited now, aren't you? I'm holding out on buying a bit for Leopard and hoping there will be an update to MacBook. Here's a link to other peoples' feed back on Parallel. http://www.tuaw.com/2006/08/08/new-...enables-better-usb-performance-inte/#comments
 
Andy said:
Woody, will you bring it to school so we can take a look at your prized toy? :smt027

Of course I will bring it to class to show off :)

btw, I use a ThinkPad at work and if I had to purchase a Windows laptop, that's what I'd get. Maybe that small one.
 
Not to change this discussion into one of Mac, but here is another solution for running Windows applications on Mac. Wine has been known in the Linux community for a while. The good: you don't need a copy of Windows and don't have to run Windows at all. The bad: only certain applications are supported.

http://www.codeweavers.com/products/
 
well i have used a mac with the boot camp and it rocks!!!... when it boots up it asks you the option to choose windows or mac, something like grub in linux, and the windows programms running well... i played the vlc media player, the age of empires, and microsoft office but no problem at all....

woody said:
Has anyone with an Intel Mac tried Parallels? I'm thinking of giving it a try.

http://www.parallels.com/

Although, I'm not sure if I'll need Windows at all. Currenly I only use it at home if I need to run SAS.
 
I don't think laptop is a must-have :) but it is certainly a good idea to buy one. I have a 15" wide-screen Dell laptop and so far like it. I used to have an HP Compaq but something related to the display broke down and the only way to repair was to get a new display, which cost like a new laptop :) I will see how Dell will handle problems (if I have any).

Someone mentioned CMU's requirement for a laptop. Their requirement is partially due to the fact that they have a software that can read what professor is writing on the board in real-time (useful when professor is in Pittsburgh and you are in New York).
 
guys dont buy dell... they are cheap though but very heavy. go for lighter laptops..
 
It depends on how you use it. I don't carry mine around every day, but take it with me when I travel (instead of carrying the desktop) :)
 
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