4 ms·

what was wrong with putting desktop machines in the library which you can check out by, you know, sitting at the desk, and which are hard to steal because they

what was wrong with putting desktop machines in the library which you can check out by, you know, sitting at the desk, and which are hard to steal because they are bolted to the furniture? what exactly are we maximizing here? the amount of money spent by the university?

nacs 14y ago
Are you really asking why someone would want to use a laptop instead of a desktop? Students could take it off campus to their home or use it anywhere outdoors within campus, take it to some other location off campus. Also, Macbooks are < $1k with an educational discount. How is it a waste of money to make 12 more computers available to students that can be used anywhere on/off campus?
- baddox 14y ago
  When I worked at a medium sized American public university 2 years ago, and a small public school district 5 years ago, the desktop Windows PCs they purchased were around $800 each without a monitor, so I doubt that the price difference is very significant unless there is a big difference in the lifetime cost due to different failure rates and warranty terms.
- rmk2 14y ago
  Assuming every student has a laptop anyway[1], this basically caters "to students who don’t want to carry a laptop while walking late at night from their dorm or off-campus housing to the library". What's the point of getting one "for five hours of use" to take it off campus or home if you have a laptop off campus or at home? What dire need exactly does this solve? Put computers in the library for people who, well, work in the library. If you want to work elsewhere, do bring your own. [1]: And I know of no student who does not own a laptop[2] [2]: Cue anecdotal evidence of that one person of a student body of thousands of people without their own laptop...
  - phdp 14y ago
    If you have ever walked in the area where drexel students live, you probably wouldn't want to carry your laptop from your home or dorm to campus. I didn't go there, but I lived nearby.
    - rmk2 14y ago
      Mhm, it makes somewhat more sense to be able to borrow one at the university if security is indeed a concern. I still wonder why it has to be a laptop, though, since desktops (and maybe communal working spaces[1]) seem to fit the bill just fine. [1]: The University of Edinburgh for example has workspaces called "pods" with a big screen and a desktop that allows for a group of students to work together and display relevant files/work on the big screen.
      - pavel_lishin 14y ago
        > I still wonder why it has to be a laptop, though, since desktops (and maybe communal working spaces[1]) seem to fit the bill just fine. You can't take a desktop with you. Sure, you can go to the computer lab, and there will probably be enough computers that you can sit next to each other, and you can probably talk quietly enough to not disturb anyone else around you. You definitely can't take a desktop with you to class. I've tried.
  - pavel_lishin 14y ago
    You only really need 12 pieces of anecdotal evidence - one per laptop - and suddenly, it's a pretty valuable service to those 12 students.
- laurentoget 14y ago
  I do not think buying laptops is a waste of money. I think building a vending machine for laptops and paying insurance for the number of laptops who will inevitably get stolen or damaged is silly.
w1ntermute 14y ago
Yeah, I don't get this. Especially now that tablets and ultrabooks are commonplace, the need for such a system doesn't really seem to exist. My laptop[0] weighs only 3 lbs - very easy to carry around. And if I don't want to, I can always just use my phone or Nexus 7. 0: http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/laptop/thinkpad/x-series/x1-carbon/ http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/laptop/thinkpad/x-series/x...
- rayiner 14y ago
  It's more a matter of not wanting it to get stolen on your way to the library walking through sketchy Philly.
  - w1ntermute 14y ago
    Seems like there's a larger, social issue that needs to be solved in that case.
    - rayiner 14y ago
      One not really solvable by Drexel. Penn has tried for years with only moderate success, and it has a huge endowment to play with.

nacs 14y ago

Are you really asking why someone would want to use a laptop instead of a desktop? Students could take it off campus to their home or use it anywhere outdoors within campus, take it to some other location off campus. Also, Macbooks are < $1k with an educational discount. How is it a waste of money to make 12 more computers available to students that can be used anywhere on/off campus?

baddox 14y ago
When I worked at a medium sized American public university 2 years ago, and a small public school district 5 years ago, the desktop Windows PCs they purchased were around $800 each without a monitor, so I doubt that the price difference is very significant unless there is a big difference in the lifetime cost due to different failure rates and warranty terms.
rmk2 14y ago
Assuming every student has a laptop anyway[1], this basically caters "to students who don’t want to carry a laptop while walking late at night from their dorm or off-campus housing to the library". What's the point of getting one "for five hours of use" to take it off campus or home if you have a laptop off campus or at home? What dire need exactly does this solve? Put computers in the library for people who, well, work in the library. If you want to work elsewhere, do bring your own. [1]: And I know of no student who does not own a laptop[2] [2]: Cue anecdotal evidence of that one person of a student body of thousands of people without their own laptop...
- phdp 14y ago
  If you have ever walked in the area where drexel students live, you probably wouldn't want to carry your laptop from your home or dorm to campus. I didn't go there, but I lived nearby.
  - rmk2 14y ago
    Mhm, it makes somewhat more sense to be able to borrow one at the university if security is indeed a concern. I still wonder why it has to be a laptop, though, since desktops (and maybe communal working spaces[1]) seem to fit the bill just fine. [1]: The University of Edinburgh for example has workspaces called "pods" with a big screen and a desktop that allows for a group of students to work together and display relevant files/work on the big screen.
    - pavel_lishin 14y ago
      > I still wonder why it has to be a laptop, though, since desktops (and maybe communal working spaces[1]) seem to fit the bill just fine. You can't take a desktop with you. Sure, you can go to the computer lab, and there will probably be enough computers that you can sit next to each other, and you can probably talk quietly enough to not disturb anyone else around you. You definitely can't take a desktop with you to class. I've tried.
- pavel_lishin 14y ago
  You only really need 12 pieces of anecdotal evidence - one per laptop - and suddenly, it's a pretty valuable service to those 12 students.
laurentoget 14y ago
I do not think buying laptops is a waste of money. I think building a vending machine for laptops and paying insurance for the number of laptops who will inevitably get stolen or damaged is silly.

w1ntermute 14y ago

Yeah, I don't get this. Especially now that tablets and ultrabooks are commonplace, the need for such a system doesn't really seem to exist. My laptop[0] weighs only 3 lbs - very easy to carry around. And if I don't want to, I can always just use my phone or Nexus 7. 0: http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/laptop/thinkpad/x-series/x1-carbon/ http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/laptop/thinkpad/x-series/x...

rayiner 14y ago
It's more a matter of not wanting it to get stolen on your way to the library walking through sketchy Philly.
- w1ntermute 14y ago
  Seems like there's a larger, social issue that needs to be solved in that case.
  - rayiner 14y ago
    One not really solvable by Drexel. Penn has tried for years with only moderate success, and it has a huge endowment to play with.