Technical Recommendations

As far as technical specifications for the university, we generally recommend laptops for students with wireless networking. Again nearly any new computer purchased will meet your basic needs, so here are some general recommendations:

Wireless	IEEE 802.11b To use the campus wireless network, you must have a device in your computer that meets this standard.
Processor	Processing power is not as important in a computer, unless you play 3D games, edit videos, or crunch big data sets. Generally speaking, the faster the processor, the faster the computer.
Memory minimum of 2 GB	Memory is what allows multiple programs to run at the same time. Most programs today do not use memory efficiently. More memory will generally improve day-to-day performance of any computer. It is extremely helpful for working with images and video as well.
Hard Drives	Most computers now will have hard drives that far exceed most needs. Consider a bigger hard drive of at least 160GB if you store lots of music, images, or at least 320GB for videos.
Disk Drives	Most computers come with DVD burning drives for backing up your data and burning movies. DVD drives with backwards compatibilty to CD are available on most computers with the exception of netbooks.
Video	Most video cards will perform very well. Don't worry about a higher end video card unless you are a gamer or do a lot of graphic design or digital photography.
Screen size	A bigger screen means you can see more of what you work on, but it also means a bigger laptop.