Undergraduate Computing Facility runs an additional small computing laboratory that gives students experience in all aspects of computing including Linux. The ICS PC lab is shown in the photo below. Since all assignments may be completed using the hardware and software maintained by ICS, owning your own computer is not a requirement. ICS also maintains its own modem pool with 100 connections for use by its students, faculty and staff. If you are thinking of buying a computer, you probably should consider a desktop PC with a Pentium processor.
Laptops are a little too fragile to be carried around campus regularly.
Don't forget to include a means of backing up the PC on tape or removable cartridges. There are a variety of career options available to ICS majors, including software development for the business, consumer, entertainment or aerospace industries, consulting for corporate information systems, network administration, database management, the design of application specific integrated circuits, and constructing embedded systems. More information can be found by consulting the Career Center on campus or the list of companies making presentations in the Careers in Computing course. Graduates of the ICS program may choose to further their education by enrolling in an M.S. or Ph.D. program, or by obtaining an MBA degree. A few ICS majors have even gone to medical school.