Don't want to be targeted? Don't use Facebook.

give it a rest. the preview takes ages to come back, most people just click through it, especially when you are in a hurry like the OP.

The $10 you pay for 2 hours at the movies is the premium for going out. You can also spend $1 on a Redbox film, or watch hours upon hours of streaming TV/Movies for $8/month using Netflix. These latter examples would be more appropriate cost comparisons to gaming.

You certainly don't need to learn those things in your first semester of programming.

Now that's impossible.

Not really...you should mouseover links to see where they point before clicking them. No need for a URL bar for that.

forums.anandtech.com - I use their for sale/for trade forum. Everything I list there I have sold. No fees make it even better (except for paypal).

As a recent CMU alum, I can testify that the Java language is not stressed by any means at the University. There are 2 introductory programming classes that are Java based. If you scored a 4 or 5 on the AP computer science exam, you can get credit for 1 or both of these, respectively. Java is a perfectly acceptable programming language to begin learning with. I studied it in high school and was able to pass out of both of these classes, so I took C classes next. If one has a solid understanding of the Java language they will see that it is in fact very similar to C, and any C class should be a breeze. Then there is an algorithms class (15-211) which is Java based. After this, every other standard undergraduate computer science class is not Java based, but more focused on systems/functional programming (if one wishes to take a programming route). After freshman/sophomore year, you will be hard pressed to find significant Java work in a CS class. Note that the above was true when I attended CMU, things may be slightly different now.

Get a reader with the new e-Ink display (better contrast). I just got a kindle 3, it is a lot better than my old 1st gen Sony eReader. Page turns are much faster and the improved contrast makes a big difference in readability. I've seen the kindle 3 used go for $110.

You must have done something wrong. It shouldn't take 20 years to get out of a student loan debt. After having some money in a liquid account for emergency funds, clearing up debt is the next highest priority when it comes to investing.

With win7 you don't have to install drivers, don't need to reinstall the OS, and don't need to use IE. Building a PC is way cheaper (and I daresay more satisfying) than buying a premade mac. You can be just as productive with win7 as with a mac. Don't see your point here or a compelling reason to get a Mac.

You've got to be kidding me. What a troll post...and one that is modded insightful, at that. If a student is unable to play for a legitimate reason they can take it up with the professor and work something out. Professors are human too, you know.

kinky.

Last semester, in my Embedded Systems senior design class, one group of 4 students did something very similar to this. It was essentially a wireless, distributed Kill-A-Watt for the home; for each device you want to monitor, you plug it into a small power adapter which then plugs into the wall outlet. These adapters wirelessly transmit power usage statistics to a base station, which connects to your wireless router. Then you can view statistics online, and shut off power to any adapter to "truely" turn off a device. I thought it really improved on the Kill-A-Watt concept and was one of the coolest projects (besides mine, of course; we made a bluetooth-enabled vibrating alarm clock pillow cover). Anyway, here's a link to their website if anyone is interested: http://jeules.org/.

Much like a fine wine.