Babson Survival Guide Part 4: Laptops and ITSD
"At Babson, we provide all incoming students with their own laptop!"
You've probably heard that a million times. It is true, you do get a laptop. But Babson is just lending it to you. You do not get to keep your laptop after you graduate. They also factor it into tuition, so it's not like you're saving any money this way.
There are two reasons they do this. The first reason is to make the school look good and generous (keeps Marketing and Admissions happy) and the second is to reduce support costs (keeps the IT department happy.) Since everyone has the same laptop, ITSD only has to support one model line of computers. Much, much easier for them.
That's a good business lesson right there, about reducing support costs and giving people free stuff they already paid for. It happens all over the place in the business world if you pay close attention.
Plus, IBM and Lenovo probably give Babson some sort of "perks" to keep their machines as the exclusive computer on campus. That way you'll get used to the machines and IBM will have you as a customer for life. (Just like how cigarette companies do it...) If your future employer uses Apple or Linux, you better pony up and purchase a computer for yourself.
The laptop itself
I think I got my first Babson-provided laptop on my first day, even before orientation started. It was pretty neat to get a new laptop already filled with software. But it turned out that some of the software was just to spy on you. And they're allowed to spy on you, because you agreed to their laptop and network usage policies already.
The security settings keep each machine locked down pretty well, so don't think you have admin access.
Information Technology Service Department (ITSD)
This is the place you go to to get your laptop fixed. And since your laptop will inevitably break, you'll be stopping by there (second floor of the library) quite a bit.
The problem isn't finding the time to go there, though. It's finding how to survive without your computer for 1-5 days while it is being repaired. (Remember, at Babson you'll live at your computer and even take it to bed with you.) Sometimes you can get your laptop fixed within a day, but that's not a guarantee. If you stop in on a day right after you're back from vacation, you'll be waiting a while.
On the bright side, my sources say this is one of the better laptop programs out there. Supposedly some other schools actually charge students for computer repair (like $75/hour!)
Final tips
Make friends with students who work in ITSD. This is a crucial step to success at Babson.
If you have friends in ITSD, you can have them fix your computer without taking it in and waiting 3-5 days. And they probably know how to remove some of the software that Babson uses to spy on you.
Final thoughts
While the computer will most likely work, there's a decent chance it will crash because of stupid things, requiring it to be reimaged. And if it breaks, it will break at the worst possible time, like during the middle of vacation when you can't get to ITSD. (You can't really fix things yourself due to the security settings.)
So I actually recommend to get your own laptop, especially if you're running your own business. For three reasons:
- It's always good to have a backup computer.
- The laptop contract forbids you from doing anything non-school related.
- The laptop is owned by Babson, so they could potentially claim rights to anything you create on it.
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