***tucom-mi Class Of 2010***

[bnoosha]

I used the forms at Booshna - will you be checking ...i check out teh places next weekend BYEEEE

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[DODO]

You guys are good!

List Con't

1. FAFSA

2. Taxes

3. $1000 deposit by May 15th

4. Physicals/Immunizations (Make sure you do this at least 2 months before classes start) http://www.tucom.edu/tucomforms.htm

5. Send Final Trascripts

6. Health and Dental Insurance (if you want to get that included into your financial aid package you need cancelled checks and proof faxed or mailed to financial aid at TOURO)

7. Have as much Fun as you can Before AUGUST

 

[couchsurfer]

8. Repeat #7 as necessary.

You guys are good!

List Con't

1. FAFSA

2. Taxes

3. $1000 deposit by May 15th

4. Physicals/Immunizations (Make sure you do this at least 2 months before classes start) http://www.tucom.edu/tucomforms.htm

5. Send Final Trascripts

6. Health and Dental Insurance (if you want to get that included into your financial aid package you need cancelled checks and proof faxed or mailed to financial aid at TOURO)

7. Have as much Fun as you can Before AUGUST

 

[Flt Surg WannaB]

I've lived in sf for a couple years, and while i'm not a student, i know it's a forty or fifty minute drive w/o traffic and probabaly an hour at least for the ferry to get you to touro.

****
"You know, I have a thing for ferries." - Gray's Anatomy

 

[Flt Surg WannaB]

Yes I will be checking out Bay Village...thats on my list

If any of you guys are intersted...i can email you the list I have put together...which includes reviews from apartmentreviews.com as well as some other opinions have have copied and pasted from sdn and misl.com
(this is what I do in my spare time instead of studying....like right now...all im doing is avoiding writing my lab report)....

okay well let me know if your intersted....otherwise ill update all you guys after i check out teh places next weekend

BYEEEE

Hey there Bnoosha,

Thank you very much for doing the research on the apartment situation. For those of us who are stuck on the East Coast, your input is really really important to us. We are looking for apartments that satisfy the same criteria of safety and cleanliness as well.

Thanks again,

Lisa

 

[Flt Surg WannaB]

Yes I will be checking out Bay Village...thats on my list

If any of you guys are intersted...i can email you the list I have put together...which includes reviews from apartmentreviews.com as well as some other opinions have have copied and pasted from sdn and misl.com
(this is what I do in my spare time instead of studying....like right now...all im doing is avoiding writing my lab report)....

okay well let me know if your intersted....otherwise ill update all you guys after i check out teh places next weekend

BYEEEE

 

[BBear]

hey, does anyone have info about orientation day? are we supposed to dress up formally in suits and such? or is it more casual? thanks!

 

[doubleplay]

hey, does anyone have info about orientation day? are we supposed to dress up formally in suits and such? or is it more casual? thanks!

When is Orientation?

 

[gosurf]

i'm interested in how the current tucom students like touro. how do you feel about the program? would you make the same choice if you could? i like the sound of the block scheduling but thats only from reading about it. do you feel you get more free time in the block schedule format? i'd like to hear anything else you'd like to offer about your experiences.

 

[bnoosha]

I emailed student affairs on Sunday asking when classes start, and when orientation is...as well as teh date of the white coat ceremony.

However, I have not received any response.

Ill let u all know if i hear something...

When is Orientation?

 

[heech]

The white coat ceremony is actually held in the Spring for TUCOM-MI, and I believe only for 2nd years about to start their clinical years. Orientation will be early August, but I don't know if it's been finalized/announced quite yet.

 

[bnoosha]

Heech ...

thanks for the inforamtion...i thought first years have a white coat ceremony...but i was definetly wrong about that one.

now hopefully we can fig. out the date in early august...

The white coat ceremony is actually held in the Spring for TUCOM-MI, and I believe only for 2nd years about to start their clinical years. Orientation will be early August, but I don't know if it's been finalized/announced quite yet.

 

[ScOrPiO2983]

bnoosha...how did your apartment hunting go?

 

[bnoosha]

hey scorpio

im actually driving up tomm...and will check out the places on Friday...ill let you guys know how it goes when i get back...

bnoosha...how did your apartment hunting go?

 

[ScOrPiO2983]

Hey guys,

I jus called up the school and the lady told me that orientation will most likely be from August 2-August 4 and school should start on August 7. She also said that orientation is only a couple hours each day and starts at 1 p.m. I asked about the curriculum and she said that she wasn't sure if it's been decided but once it has, it will be posted on the website ASAP. So I guess we have to keep checking the website for the final calendar and curriculum information!

 

[DODO]

Thanks for the update. I kinda hope they get the new curriculum finished.

 

[bnoosha]

oooh thanks for the update! Now ill just constantly keep checking the site..lol

Hey guys,

I jus called up the school and the lady told me that orientation will most likely be from August 2-August 4 and school should start on August 7. She also said that orientation is only a couple hours each day and starts at 1 p.m. I asked about the curriculum and she said that she wasn't sure if it's been decided but once it has, it will be posted on the website ASAP. So I guess we have to keep checking the website for the final calendar and curriculum information!

 

[hmack]

Hey!

Okay so last night I was out for St. Patricks Day in SF and ran into a first year at TUCOM!!! And all she could say was good things about the school and her experience so far. Just wanted to share that little bit. Oh and she lives in the Marina and it takes her 50 minutes to get to school!

Happy Belated St. Patricks Day!

 

[Flt Surg WannaB]

Hey guys,

I jus called up the school and the lady told me that orientation will most likely be from August 2-August 4 and school should start on August 7. She also said that orientation is only a couple hours each day and starts at 1 p.m. I asked about the curriculum and she said that she wasn't sure if it's been decided but once it has, it will be posted on the website ASAP. So I guess we have to keep checking the website for the final calendar and curriculum information!

Thanks Scorpio for update!

 

[BluesClues32]

Has anyone from the East Coast decided the cheapest way to move across country? Thanks!!

 

[bnoosha]

Hey GUys

Well Im back from my apartment search, and I was able to find out a lot of information for you guys.

Okay well i started off looking in martinez, which wasnt bad, but I ultimatly decided that it is too far of a drive (about 30 minutes) so I wouldnt choose that area. If anyone is intersted in living in martinez let me know and i will let you know what I thought was nice.

Next I looked in Benicia, which was definetly a nicer area. It seemed queit and peaceful. I only looked at complexes that had 2 bed 2 ba, cuz thats what i was intersted, and therefore the apartments I found to be nice were the following:
*CLUB PACIFICA....this was a very nice community, very very clean, and seemed very safe, and the lady said they have several touro students living there. However, she aslo did say it is about a 20 min commute to school. You guys can check out pics and more infromation by looking on rent.com. Also, wont look at your application letter without your award letter, and she said many times touro takes awhile to get this out.
*Sterling Heights Apartments....this was another nice community, and was tucked away near the bay...and near residential homes. The community wasnt as nice as club pacifica, but nevertheless, it was nice. Again the commute to school is about 20 minutes.
*Point Benecia Rentals
707) 746-6000
385 E 2nd St, Benicia, CA
Okay these were townhowmes right by the bay, and across from the benicia yacht club. THe area was very cute, and had a small town feel, with little shops less than a mile away. This however was farther than the other two, about 25 minutes I estimate. I didnt get to look inside these. Im not sure about teh availiblity, b/c when i called the lady said that some of the townhomes are owned, and soem are rented, so she didnt have anything to show right then. But this was a very very cute community.

Okay now to vallejo

Basically, while i was there i drove in front of about 25 different apartment communities. Yup, thats a lot, and let me tell you the majority of them did not look nice at all. Either they were old, dirty, and you could see some people hanging around the complex that made me feel uncomfortable. Hey maybe i'm being to judgemental, but after hearing things from others about vallejo, and being a girl i dont want to take my chances. While drivign by one of the communites, i noticed a car with its windows broken into...that defeintly made my shy away from that place.
So basically, this is what i noticed about the whole city of vallejo (which now I seem to be an expert of, considering I saw so many apartment complexes). There is a good side of vallejo and a not so nice side of vallejo. Basically, the side of the I-80 that leads to mare island is not as nice or safe (and many people livign in the city told me the same thing), while the other side of teh I-80 is a lot nicer. THis side has more residential communities, and definetly a more suburban feel. Furthermore, its located very close to huge, new shopping centers, with a target, costco, home depot, resturants...etc...etc...I really got a better feeling from the surrounding on this side of teh I-80, and if you guys visit, you should drive up and down tenesseee ave, and you wil notice the differene.

Okay, now before i left, I was pretty set on living in Broadstonevillage. I thought it was a beuatiful community that was gated and full of ammenties, however Broadstone is located on the other side of the I-80, and therefore I dont think it is in the best part of town. Yes it is only 5 minutes from the school, and while we are on that, I drove from the school to the intersection at the end of the bridge, and basically getting off the island takes 5 minutes alone, so keep that in mind as commute time as well (so i reccomend when mapquesting directions, mapquest to the intersection of mare island way, and tenesee ave and then add another 5 minutes). Okay back to broadstone, so it is a really nice community, and b/c they are new inside of the apartments look magnificient. Garages however are an extra 100 dollars, so thats kinda not worth it. Also carports are 15 a month, but i guess if you sign a lease soon they will give it to you for free. It was gated, which was a plus, but when it came down to it i dont think that i will be choosing this community. For one, the shopping center located behind the community seemed to have a lot of people lurking around, and contained a 99 cent store, a starbucks ))and a couple other small stores, but no grocery store. Again maybe im being judgmental so dont take my comments the wrong way, but the feeling i got from the surrounding areas wasnt that great. One plus was that broadstone was surrounded by 3 senior apartment communiities (and i dont really worry about much of my safety with seniors being around), but the austin creek apartments right across from broadstone were not that appealing. Okay so after this long long paragraph....whats my conclusion....paying about $1650 for a 2 bed 2ba was not worth it, esp. b/c you are not in the best part of town.....to bad b/c the place was actually pretty nice....oh ya, and they do not pay for water, garbage, or sewage, so that is another 50 + per month.


okay now for the rest of vallejo....i found three apartment communiites on the nicer side of town which i will be considering.

*Sundance Apartments (you can find this community on rent.com)
They have over 500 units...so there will defintly be availablity by the time you want to move in, so you dont have to worry about putting your deposit down or anything like that. The communiites seemed nice, not the greatest, but defeintly nice....however, on apartmentratings.com you will see that there are some bad reviews of the community. THe units however do come with a washer dryer, whcih i think makes doing laudry a whole lot easier. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

*Next was Village View apartments
Okay this community seemed nicer than sundance, and pretty safe. The pool wasnt the nicest, but i mean how ofter will i be going swimming. Anyhow, all these units came with garages, and the community was bulit in 1986 (so its not too old). One thing i loved abotu this community, was the floorplans. They had a 2 bed 2ba + loft, which was really really nicely layed out (there were two floorplans...and one was btter than the other). Anyways, I thought the loft was pretty spacious, and the lady told me that some touro students use that loft as another bedroom. I dont know about that, but i thought that using teh loft as an office would be great. Two desks would fit in there for sure, and it would seperate your bedroom, from your sudy area, and that was very appealing to me. However, in this communiity, i think location is imp. It would be nice to have an apt. that got lots of sunlight. anyways you can get more information about this at http://www.villageviewapts.com/index.htm and oh ya, the price for that 2 bed 2 ba + loft was only 1225...(a steal comparted to broadsone)...if you want they have some aprtments without a loft for 1150. And almost all the apartments are located on teh 2nd or third floor, b/c the gargages are on the first floor....oh and i forgot, all the 2 bed 2 baths had w/d hookups and she said you can rent w/d for about 30 a month, and they had mirrored wardrobes as well (just an extra plus)

*Blue Rock Village
This was a little farther up than sundance and village view apartments (about an extra 2 miles north), but this community was gated and in a very nice area and very clean. The place seemed safe, and the community had about 500 aparment units. I didnt get a chance to look at the actual 2bed 2ba floor plan, but i saw a one bedromm, and it semed nice. The layout for the 2bed 2ba seems really good b/c there are dual master bedrooms, both with walk in closets, i think making the split perfectlly even. Only 1 carport is assigned per unit. you can check out there website for more info http://www.brebluerockvillage.com

okay so the 3 apartments above were between 12-17 minutues away from school (when i drove it)...im not suer if mapquest gives teh same distance.

sorry my post is kinda unorganized, I was kinda in a rush typing b/c i have to study for my two finals this week, but if you guys have any specific questions, please please let me know and i will try to answer anything.

Okay well take care and hope this helped a little.

Oh ya, and as of right now, I think i am considering the 3 aparments i mentioned above that were located in vallejo. The drive just seems better than that in benicia and the apartments are about 200 less than those in benicia. But im still not sure, b/c i have heard that becicia is safer. We'll see

 

[doubleplay]

Hey All - I was just wondering if lap tops were required...and if so, what are the specifications (ie windows OS, etc)? I was looking at the ibooks/power books by apple and it looks like you can run windows as an additional platform on a MAC...does anyone have an insight as to the limitations to such a computer? THanks

 

[chiddy]

Hey All - I was just wondering if lap tops were required...and if so, what are the specifications (ie windows OS, etc)? I was looking at the ibooks/power books by apple and it looks like you can run windows as an additional platform on a MAC...does anyone have an insight as to the limitations to such a computer? THanks

I emailed Dr. Haight about two months ago to ask about this and he said at that time that laptops weren't required. Although this could have changed... As far as purchasing a computer, I have a laptop and will probably be using it since I type faster than I write. As far as iBooks and Power Books go, they (the new Intel versions) "can" run Windows but it is not something they do by default and it requires a bit of "hacking" on your part to get it to work (mainly because the new Macs use an EFI based bios and XP doesn't support this - Vista will whenever it's released). Also, once it is working there aren't many drivers out for Mac hardware to run in Windows and those that exist are no where near perfect. You have to understand, MS has no reason to want people to run Windows on Mac. Macintosh, probably secretly wants people to in order to increase hardware sales, but they'll probably never admit it. To see a video on this topic take a look here: http://media.libsyn.com/media/macbreak/macbreak20060317-001s2-mp4.mov

At this point I'd wait and see what happens, although if you want to buy one now, a Windows-based laptop would be the safest bet (although you should dual boot it with Ubuntu Linux instead ). Anyway I have a HP DV1000 that I'm pretty happy with... its a 14" widescreen laptop so its easy to lug around.

 

[SotaBGirl]

Bnoosha - You Rock! Thank you so much for all of this info. I was looking at the Bay Village apartments on the west side of I-80, so I am so happy to find out before its too late about the area. I didn't see it on your list, but I am assuming the area is not that great. I guess I am moving to the east side now... too bad, Bay Village is right on the water there

Did you take any pics?

ps... I owe you a beer for all of this info - first round is on me

 

[bnoosha]

Hey

I was happy to help with the information. You dont owe me a beer, but i'm down for a night of drinking...hey we are only 15 min. away from napa

anyways...ya most of the places near the water weren't that nice...kinda unfortunate.

Also, you can check out apartmentratings.com, which gives reviews of some of the apts....like bay village (they say there are lots of break ins)

Anyhow...r u going to be going up to check out apts...when will u be moving??

Bnoosha - You Rock! Thank you so much for all of this info. I was looking at the Bay Village apartments on the west side of I-80, so I am so happy to find out before its too late about the area. I didn't see it on your list, but I am assuming the area is not that great. I guess I am moving to the east side now... too bad, Bay Village is right on the water there

Did you take any pics?

ps... I owe you a beer for all of this info - first round is on me

 

[bnoosha]

hey guys...

so i hope i didnt put you to sleep with my essay on apartments...


anyways...i had a question. So i think tucom creates a financial aid award, and bascially i hear that this covers the 9 months of school (2 semesters)...how are we to cover our other months of rent? DO you guys know any more info about this?

Thanks!

 

[SotaBGirl]

Bnoosha - I am planning on moving the weekend of July 15-16 and most likely won't be visiting before hand. It makes things difficult, but I figure if whichever place I find is terrible... I'll just look for another. When I have done this in the past I didn't sign the lease until I got there - just in case. When are you moving?

For the 9mo thing - at the interview they said we have to budget for it, but I am not sure how I am going to figure that out just yet.

 

[doubleplay]

Hey

I was happy to help with the information. You dont owe me a beer, but i'm down for a night of drinking...hey we are only 15 min. away from napa

anyways...ya most of the places near the water weren't that nice...kinda unfortunate.

Also, you can check out apartmentratings.com, which gives reviews of some of the apts....like bay village (they say there are lots of break ins)

Anyhow...r u going to be going up to check out apts...when will u be moving??

Hey Bnoosha - first of all...thanks a ton for doing the legwork for all of us "out of towners" - the info you gave was awesome! Just one question...In your opinion, which is better, Blue Rock Village or Sundance? I have a puppy, and The Village doesn't allow animals. I like the floor plans to Blue Rock...but i's hard to tell by just the websites, the big differences between the two. Thanks Bnoosha!

 

[couchsurfer]

I second that. Many thanks Bnoosha,this info will definitely help when I'm getting ready to check for places. From your description, I'm leaning towards Club Pacifica, but curious about Point Benecia Rentals(do they have a website?)

 

[bnoosha]

BlueROck village is nicer in my opinion than sundance...plus i read a couple of reviews about bad security at sundance on apartmentratings.com and knowing that blueRock village is at least gated...seems like a better choice.
But just keep in mind that blue rock is about 2 miles farther...but the area is a lot nicer as well....like on that 2 mile drive up there is a beautiful park and you pass by some nice residential homes.

Good luck

Hey Bnoosha - first of all...thanks a ton for doing the legwork for all of us "out of towners" - the info you gave was awesome! Just one question...In your opinion, which is better, Blue Rock Village or Sundance? I have a puppy, and The Village doesn't allow animals. I like the floor plans to Blue Rock...but i's hard to tell by just the websites, the big differences between the two. Thanks Bnoosha!

 

[bnoosha]

Ya club pacifica was probably the nicest apartment community i saw, i liked it but am just worried about the drive

anyhow...unfortunetly point benecia rentals does not have a website that i know of.

I wish i took some pics of the place...but maybe you can call them and see what information they offer. I called when i drove by and they said that they are townhome like apartments, with 1 car garage and rent goes for $1400-$1475 for a 2bed 2 1/2 bath (so im sure they are 2 stories)

Let me know if you find out any more info as well

I second that. Many thanks Bnoosha,this info will definitely help when I'm getting ready to check for places. From your description, I'm leaning towards Club Pacifica, but curious about Point Benecia Rentals(do they have a website?)

 

[ScOrPiO2983]

Thanks for the information bnoosha! I think that I am going to head over to Vallejo within the next couple weeks and look at apartments as well. I'll let you guys know what I find.

 

[asm028400]

Hey everyone,
I emailed Dr. Haight about the laptop situation a few weeks ago and since the curriculum is changing he referred me to someone in charge of curriculum and this was the response it received:
Dr. Haight has referred your question to me. The answer is yes, we will be requiring laptops. Pretty much any laptop that is Windows XP compatible, with 1gigabyte RAM, is sufficient. We have had some problems with ACER laptops, so we advise against those. We would recommend the extra long life battery option, if it is available, and also a back-up battery would be a good idea.
Hope this helps!
Amy

 

[doubleplay]

Hey everyone,
I emailed Dr. Haight about the laptop situation a few weeks ago and since the curriculum is changing he referred me to someone in charge of curriculum and this was the response it received:
Dr. Haight has referred your question to me. The answer is yes, we will be requiring laptops. Pretty much any laptop that is Windows XP compatible, with 1gigabyte RAM, is sufficient. We have had some problems with ACER laptops, so we advise against those. We would recommend the extra long life battery option, if it is available, and also a back-up battery would be a good idea.
Hope this helps!
Amy

So I am assuming that if you can get a macbook to dual boot an apple OS as well as ms windows XP, all compatibility issues should be taken care of? I really want to get one of the new apple notebooks with the intel chip in - but at the same time remain compatible. thanks

btw - 1gb seems a bit high, especially for a laptop...anyone else agree?

 

[BBear]

thanks for the update. so i guess the curriculum is changing for sure? and if laptops are required... does that mean wireless access? *crossing fingers*

Hey everyone,
I emailed Dr. Haight about the laptop situation a few weeks ago and since the curriculum is changing he referred me to someone in charge of curriculum and this was the response it received:
Dr. Haight has referred your question to me. The answer is yes, we will be requiring laptops. Pretty much any laptop that is Windows XP compatible, with 1gigabyte RAM, is sufficient. We have had some problems with ACER laptops, so we advise against those. We would recommend the extra long life battery option, if it is available, and also a back-up battery would be a good idea.
Hope this helps!
Amy

 

[ScOrPiO2983]

So I am assuming that if you can get a macbook to dual boot an apple OS as well as ms windows XP, all compatibility issues should be taken care of? I really want to get one of the new apple notebooks with the intel chip in - but at the same time remain compatible. thanks

btw - 1gb seems a bit high, especially for a laptop...anyone else agree?

I agree that the 1GB seems really high for a laptop especially since many are still coming with only the 512. I'm wondering if that is a mistake.

 

[chiddy]

I agree that the 1GB seems really high for a laptop especially since many are still coming with only the 512. I'm wondering if that is a mistake.

1 GB should be good especially if you decide to upgrade to Windows Vista (which has a release date of January 2007 right now... unless it gets delayed again). The cheapest way to do this it to build the laptop with 1 stick of RAM. For example, I built my laptop with 1-512MB stick. Then after I got it, I bought a 1GB stick aftermarket and put it in. So now I have 1.5 GB for roughly half the price it would have cost if I had it built like that. Memory is usually really easy to upgrade, you just pop open a door on the bottom of the laptop. 512 MB is "enough" but its starting to get old... by the time Vista comes out 1 GB will be standard.

So I am assuming that if you can get a macbook to dual boot an apple OS as well as ms windows XP, all compatibility issues should be taken care of? I really want to get one of the new apple notebooks with the intel chip in - but at the same time remain compatible. thanks

In reference to the Macs please read my earlier post. With the bios/hardware differences, it just isn't that easy yet and the drivers are very mediocre and buggy right now. Buying it right now is a huge gamble. I'm sure Windows will work on them perfectly sooner or later, but possibly not by the time school starts. And keep in mind you'll have to wait even longer to get Vista to run on them. If you want the Mac you should probably wait and see how far along this whole compatibility process is in mid June/early July and then decide.

Don't forget to take battery life into account. I was talking to a med student a while ago and she bought a laptop with a nice video card and a huge screen. Not only was it a pain lugging it around she said she only got 3 hours using an 8 cell battery and kept having to find a place to plug it in all the time. The laptop I have, has the same specs as hers, just with a smaller screen and slower video card, but I get about 7 hours using a 12 cell battery (1.5x more battery life) and have a 6 cell (3.5 hour) backup. Also, that Intel Centrino stuff really makes a huge difference in battery life!

Alright, time for me to get off my computer geek pedestal Anyway, hope that helped someone.

 

[hamandcheese]

Does anyone think that these guys (i.e., the school) are asking for a bit too much? I already have a laptop. Unfortunately, though, it has poor battery life and it is really heavy and bulky to be carrying around. Also I would need to buy RAM and install it. So I would have to get a new battery that will last longer (this will be at least $200) and RAM (don't really know how much this will cost). By the time school starts I will have had my laptop for only two years, and I feel it's a waste to buy a new one just because Touro dictates so.

Anyway, sorry for the rant, but I would like to see what everyone else thinks.

By the way, my name is Hami.

 

[chiddy]

Does anyone think that these guys (i.e., the school) are asking for a bit too much? I already have a laptop. Unfortunately, though, it has poor battery life and it is really heavy and bulky to be carrying around. Also I would need to buy RAM and install it. So I would have to get a new battery that will last longer (this will be at least $200) and RAM (don't really know how much this will cost). By the time school starts I will have had my laptop for only two years, and I feel it's a waste to buy a new one just because Touro dictates so.

Anyway, sorry for the rant, but I would like to see what everyone else thinks.

By the way, my name is Hami.

Honestly, I doubt you have to stick to their requirements. Basically if your laptop can run WindowsXP and Office (Word, PowerPoint, etc.), and has a wireless connection (you can get a PCMCIA add-on card for this) you should be fine. They probably just recommend what they do so you can get the best laptop IF you're buying a new one now. If you already have one, the only thing you really need to worry about is the battery life.. how bad is it anyway? I'd email Dr. Haight and see if there are power outlets available at the desks in the lecture halls. If so, you should be fine and can just plug it in during lecture.

Also, check out www.slickdeals.net . They sometimes post some really cheap stuff. I wouldn't be surprised if you could get the PCMCIA card for free after rebates and find discounts on the memory. The website's updated almost constantly (check out their Forums under the Hot Deals and Freebies sections). Just be careful... I got addicted to that website and almost ended up broke!

 

[hamandcheese]

Honestly, I doubt you have to stick to their requirements. Basically if your laptop can run WindowsXP and Office (Word, PowerPoint, etc.), and has a wireless connection (you can get a PCMCIA add-on card for this) you should be fine. They probably just recommend what they do so you can get the best laptop IF you're buying a new one now. If you already have one, the only thing you really need to worry about is the battery life.. how bad is it anyway? I'd email Dr. Haight and see if there are power outlets available at the desks in the lecture halls. If so, you should be fine and can just plug it in during lecture.

Also, check out www.slickdeals.net . They sometimes post some really cheap stuff. I wouldn't be surprised if you could get the PCMCIA card for free after rebates and find discounts on the memory. The website's updated almost constantly (check out their Forums under the Hot Deals and Freebies sections). Just be careful... I got addicted to that website and almost ended up broke!

Thanks for the response.

I have an overall good computer with internal wireless and the rest. It's just the battery, like I've said, that is really terrible (2 hours max, even with brightness at a low level). Anyway, I'm sure it will all be OK in the end. Thanks again.

 

[doubleplay]

1 GB should be good especially if you decide to upgrade to Windows Vista (which has a release date of January 2007 right now... unless it gets delayed again). The cheapest way to do this it to build the laptop with 1 stick of RAM. For example, I built my laptop with 1-512MB stick. Then after I got it, I bought a 1GB stick aftermarket and put it in. So now I have 1.5 GB for roughly half the price it would have cost if I had it built like that. Memory is usually really easy to upgrade, you just pop open a door on the bottom of the laptop. 512 MB is "enough" but its starting to get old... by the time Vista comes out 1 GB will be standard.



In reference to the Macs please read my earlier post. With the bios/hardware differences, it just isn't that easy yet and the drivers are very mediocre and buggy right now. Buying it right now is a huge gamble. I'm sure Windows will work on them perfectly sooner or later, but possibly not by the time school starts. And keep in mind you'll have to wait even longer to get Vista to run on them. If you want the Mac you should probably wait and see how far along this whole compatibility process is in mid June/early July and then decide.

Don't forget to take battery life into account. I was talking to a med student a while ago and she bought a laptop with a nice video card and a huge screen. Not only was it a pain lugging it around she said she only got 3 hours using an 8 cell battery and kept having to find a place to plug it in all the time. The laptop I have, has the same specs as hers, just with a smaller screen and slower video card, but I get about 7 hours using a 12 cell battery (1.5x more battery life) and have a 6 cell (3.5 hour) backup. Also, that Intel Centrino stuff really makes a huge difference in battery life!

Alright, time for me to get off my computer geek pedestal Anyway, hope that helped someone.

Hey Chiddy - thanks for all the great advice...you don't need to worry about being on the "computer geek pedestal" - I think I speak for many when I say it is great to have computer-savvy resources.....kind of like having a friend as a mechanic Anyway, what do you think about the Dell notebooks - specificall the xps series or 700m...I was looking at the smaller ones that would be light and easy to lug around beautiful Mare Island. Also, if you have any other recommendations, feel free (I know previously you mentioned you had an HP??) THanks again for sharing your comp knowledge!

 

[BBear]

hey guys, just emailed dr. haight about orientation and he said it's pretty casual so we won't have to dress in suits or anything.

 

[MasterShakeDO]

Yeah, done with hell week!
Now I have time to waste time on internet message boards.
1. We have, like, 4 outlets in the entire lecture hall. how they can dictate everyone to have a laptop when the infrastructure clearly doesn't support it (including no wireless!) is ridiculous. that's why your battery life has to be good or else 135 people will be fighting to get the seats that actually reach the outlets. I had my laptop plugged in and someone tripped on it, sending my laptop flying. Luckily it still works fine, but slightly dented. 1 gig of RAM to run powerpoint seems a bit overboard IMHO. I'd go with the older model (1.3-1.6 mHz) centrinos you can get for under 1000. The new thing in our class are those PC tablets that you can write notes directly on your powerpoint. I'm so jealous that I don't have one.
2. The apartments in benicia are very nice, and I wouldn't worry about the drive. It's really not as far as it sounds. I don't think anybody complains that benicia is too far away, especially considering how much nicer it is than vallejo. Has Spyglass in Glen Cove has been mentioned? a lot of students live there and it's in a really nice part of vallejo.
3. You will likely have to take out private loans for living expenses as most of your federal aid goes straight to tuition. Go to salliemae.com to get you started.
4. Enjoy your time before school!

 

[chiddy]

Hey Chiddy - thanks for all the great advice...you don't need to worry about being on the "computer geek pedestal" - I think I speak for many when I say it is great to have computer-savvy resources.....kind of like having a friend as a mechanic Anyway, what do you think about the Dell notebooks - specificall the xps series or 700m...I was looking at the smaller ones that would be light and easy to lug around beautiful Mare Island. Also, if you have any other recommendations, feel free (I know previously you mentioned you had an HP??) THanks again for sharing your comp knowledge!

The Dell XPS M140 looks like a nice notebook. It's specs are actually exactly the same as the HP I have and this is what Dell says about its battery life:

Primary Battery:
Standard: 6 cell battery (Maximum battery life of 4:28 to 4:40 hours)
Optional: 9 cell battery available (Maximum battery life of 6:58 to 7:09 hours)

I would stay away from the 710M because of its graphics card which is an Intel Extreme Graphics. It's incredibly slow. Try to stick with Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 900 or better. Also, the ATI and nVidia cards that are optional on most of these laptops are going to allow you to play 3D applications like games, but also drain battery life significantly. The GMA900 can play games, just not the latest and greatest. Also keep in mind the GMA video cards share memory with your system RAM, so 1 GB or higher (especially for Duo Core) is a realistic goal.

Also, with laptops like the HP DV1000 you have the option of getting an HP DV1000t which is the Core Duo version for a few hundred more. This esentially means that the processor has two cores. While one might be virus scanning, the other can do something else. It just allows for more bandwidth. For information about Core Duo's power consumption versus a single core Pentium M, see here: http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/01...battery_life_for_quicker_response/page23.html
Basically the dual core deals with power consumption better, but if you couple it with a higher-end graphics cards it starts eating into your battery life badly.

Also, be careful how some of these manufacturers list the dual core processors. If they write Dual Core Processor and not specifically Duo Core, the computer is probably not going to use Duo Centrino to conserve battery life. In fact, I don't even think they use the same processor. I'd call the manufacturer to confirm this before purchasing. I believe to have a Centrino certified laptop you need these three things: Intel Pentium M/Duo Core; Intel Video Card; Intel Wireless.

Personally, I think Dell and HP are both good manufactuers, but if I had to do it again, I'd go with the HP DV1000t. Its has the Duo Core processor, optional integrated webcam, faster RAM, faster Intel video card. I'm just unsure as to how much battery the Core Duo will use under actual load.

Now as far as purchasing goes... do Google searches for the term "Dell Coupons" they sometimes have things like 35% off, etc. For the HP just keep checking out their website (www.hpshopping.com > HP Pavilion Notebooks). Right now they have a free printer, $50 rebate, and some upgrades to the DVD burner with lightscribe. When I got my laptop they actually had a free spare battery.

Also, please take my advice with a grain of salt. I tend to always go for the higher end things when I purchase computers since I tend to demand a little more from them than the average user. I don't know what you will use the laptop for, so my advice might be overkill. I'm basically trying to tell you what "could" theoretically run Windows Vista at a comfortable speed once it is released (although probably without the nifty glass transparent interface). For most uses the Duo Core is probably just going to be overkill.

 

[KendoDO]

I got a Dell XPS Gen 2 as a grad present this year, the computer will last me till I am done with med school and residency, so is a very good investment. Also, if you remember during orientation they said no wireless, but I do remember them saying something about the pharm school having wireless...? Don't remember exactly.

 

[doubleplay]

The Dell XPS M140 looks like a nice notebook. It's specs are actually exactly the same as the HP I have and this is what Dell says about its battery life:

Primary Battery:
Standard: 6 cell battery (Maximum battery life of 4:28 to 4:40 hours)
Optional: 9 cell battery available (Maximum battery life of 6:58 to 7:09 hours)

I would stay away from the 710M because of its graphics card which is an Intel Extreme Graphics. It's incredibly slow. Try to stick with Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 900 or better. Also, the ATI and nVidia cards that are optional on most of these laptops are going to allow you to play 3D applications like games, but also drain battery life significantly. The GMA900 can play games, just not the latest and greatest. Also keep in mind the GMA video cards share memory with your system RAM, so 1 GB or higher (especially for Duo Core) is a realistic goal.

Also, with laptops like the HP DV1000 you have the option of getting an HP DV1000t which is the Core Duo version for a few hundred more. This esentially means that the processor has two cores. While one might be virus scanning, the other can do something else. It just allows for more bandwidth. For information about Core Duo's power consumption versus a single core Pentium M, see here: http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/01...battery_life_for_quicker_response/page23.html
Basically the dual core deals with power consumption better, but if you couple it with a higher-end graphics cards it starts eating into your battery life badly.

Also, be careful how some of these manufacturers list the dual core processors. If they write Dual Core Processor and not specifically Duo Core, the computer is probably not going to use Duo Centrino to conserve battery life. In fact, I don't even think they use the same processor. I'd call the manufacturer to confirm this before purchasing. I believe to have a Centrino certified laptop you need these three things: Intel Pentium M/Duo Core; Intel Video Card; Intel Wireless.

Personally, I think Dell and HP are both good manufactuers, but if I had to do it again, I'd go with the HP DV1000t. Its has the Duo Core processor, optional integrated webcam, faster RAM, faster Intel video card. I'm just unsure as to how much battery the Core Duo will use under actual load.

Now as far as purchasing goes... do Google searches for the term "Dell Coupons" they sometimes have things like 35% off, etc. For the HP just keep checking out their website (www.hpshopping.com > HP Pavilion Notebooks). Right now they have a free printer, $50 rebate, and some upgrades to the DVD burner with lightscribe. When I got my laptop they actually had a free spare battery.

Also, please take my advice with a grain of salt. I tend to always go for the higher end things when I purchase computers since I tend to demand a little more from them than the average user. I don't know what you will use the laptop for, so my advice might be overkill. I'm basically trying to tell you what "could" theoretically run Windows Vista at a comfortable speed once it is released (although probably without the nifty glass transparent interface). For most uses the Duo Core is probably just going to be overkill.

Thanks a bunch man! Another ?....what do you think about the tablet pcs? I was looking at those as well, but not sure if they are quite worth the cost. Can you shed any light on these? thanks

 

[chiddy]

Thanks a bunch man! Another ?....what do you think about the tablet pcs? I was looking at those as well, but not sure if they are quite worth the cost. Can you shed any light on these? thanks

I don't really know about those. They look neat and everything and I can see how it might be nice to write on the screen, especially to draw things. But, I tend to type faster than I write so it's probably just a waste of money for me. Also, you have to consider that they normally have slower processors and cost more than a comparable laptop. I'm not sure if these would work as well, but Wacom makes these tablets that you can use with a regular computer/laptop to draw: http://www.wacom.com/index2.cfm

Here's an example of how that would work: http://www.wacom.com/businessapplications/index.cfm

EDIT: The 4x6 $99 one I posted about here earlier I think is just for editting pictures. For writing and drawing you'd probably need to get an Intuos3 which is much more expensive: http://www.wacom.com/productinfo/intuos.cfm (but it seems like you can get $50-$100 off if you go through eBay).

 

[chiddy]

Anyone read this: http://articles.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20060325131609990004&ncid=NWS00010000000001

Coming from the Northeast and never being in an earthquake, that kind of makes me nervous

 

[hamandcheese]

Anyone read this: http://articles.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20060325131609990004&ncid=NWS00010000000001

Coming from the Northeast and never being in an earthquake, that kind of makes me nervous

Don't worry...

 

[chiddy]

Don't worry...

Haha, yeah. It's funny though, everytime I tell someone I'm going to medical school in California, they always say that they would love to live there but wouldn't because of the earthquakes. I'm sure I'll be hearing about this a lot now. I couldn't be happier though, I've had just about enough winter weather.