So, you can add serious number-crunching to your reasons for having a computer. Also, there are bulletin-board resources out there for use by classes. Dr. Roffe teaches his entire graduate Abnormal course using a bulletin-board. Some of the rest of us are about to incorporate this resource into our curriculum. T he final reason for a computer is probably the most important in the long run, and that is Internet.
Internet is an international network of computers that literally spans the globe.
The amount and variety of information is so incredibly vast that no single person knows exactly how much there is at any one given moment. E-mail is one of the most popular. This is free, or at worst the price of a local call to campus. I have regular conversations with friends and former students all over the country. This can be a bit dangerous.