<p>On computers:</p>
<p>There are public computer lounges (both Mac and PC) just about everywhere – all of the dorms, the library, the Science Center coffee shop, the Kohlberg coffee shop, the science labs, etc. My D has a laptop, but she almost never takes it out of the dorm room and uses the public computers when she is out and about. </p>
<p>You have a network log-in password, do checking email or accessing your files on the network file servers is the same from a public computer as it is from your own computer. Once you’ve logged on, it is “your” computer. The real advantage of a laptop is the ease of taking it with you on vacations. Overall, I think it would be possible to get by without a computer at all, but getting a desktop would be an even better low-cost alternative. A desktop capable of running Windows XP is dirt cheap.</p>
<p>It would not surprise me at all if Swarthmore has an informal system of recycling computers to students who need one.</p>