computer systems?

IRISH DAYWALKER

hello everyone, i will probably get offered this course int the morning and i just wanted to ask a few questions to people who did it or know people that are doing it ok here it goes.....1) whats the course like is it enjoyable? 2) are the teachers good, helpfull and approachable if you are having difficulty? 3) what are job prospects like when you finish the course and do they pay well ? 4) are there many girls doing this course ? haha oh ya and alot of people have told me that there are no normal people doing this course that like to go out and have fun they are just " nerds " constantly working is this true? (i highly doubt this but i had to ask)..... any other helpfull info would be much appretiated.... thanks in advance!!

ciano1

Could anybody also tell me the difference between Computer Systems and Computer Science

rmacm

ciano1 wrote: »

Could anybody also tell me the difference between Computer Systems and Computer Science

You first since it's a short answer, they're both the same thing essentially.

IRISH DAYWALKER wrote: »

hello everyone, i will probably get offered this course int the morning and i just wanted to ask a few questions to people who did it or know people that are doing it ok here it goes.....1) whats the course like is it enjoyable? 2) are the teachers good, helpfull and approachable if you are having difficulty? 3) what are job prospects like when you finish the course and do they pay well ? 4) are there many girls doing this course ? haha oh ya and alot of people have told me that there are no normal people doing this course that like to go out and have fun they are just " nerds " constantly working is this true? (i highly doubt this but i had to ask)..... any other helpfull info would be much appretiated.... thanks in advance!!

Yes I found the course enjoyable but like most things in life there's also some pain along with it, depending on your outlook pain can be a good thing though.

Most of the lecturers are pretty decent and approachable so you'll be grand.

Don't know what the job prospects are like at the moment to be honest but the pay can be pretty decent for a graduate.

There were 4 or 5 girls in my class so as odd as it seems yes there are women who do Comp Sys.

As for Comp Sys people not being "normal" however the hell you wish to define that well I can tell you that most of us liked to go out and get drunk every so often

Fortunately most of us knew when we needed to put in the work and not go out, just strike a balance between the two and you'll be fine.

Peteee

Ditto on what Rmacm said.

As for people doing the course, there are a few oddballs but most people are great. The lecturers are for the most part friendly and approachable, the girls are few and far between.

Plenty of boardsies are either former or current CS students so fire away with any questions you may have, or do a search, there's loads of threads about Comp Sys!

Amberw122

IRISH DAYWALKER wrote: »

hello everyone, i will probably get offered this course int the morning and i just wanted to ask a few questions to people who did it or know people that are doing it ok here it goes.....1) whats the course like is it enjoyable? 2) are the teachers good, helpfull and approachable if you are having difficulty? 3) what are job prospects like when you finish the course and do they pay well ? 4) are there many girls doing this course ? haha oh ya and alot of people have told me that there are no normal people doing this course that like to go out and have fun they are just " nerds " constantly working is this true? (i highly doubt this but i had to ask)..... any other helpfull info would be much appretiated.... thanks in advance!!

hey im doing that course this year too =D... only decided this morning!! i was worried too that id get stuck wit a load of computer nerds, but from what ive heard its not going to be that bad. howd ur leaving go?? did u get the course??

IRISH DAYWALKER

ya i got the course but im still deciding which course to accept though i also got accounting and finance in l.i.t.... i have to make my mind up soon its wrecking my head ha

Amberw122

Aww ya i know it not easy they dont give you enuf time to make up ur mind nd den uv 2 sort out accomodation nd crap!! From what ive heard ul is better than lit but then again it depends what course wud u rather do??

Peteee

Lads, you're going into college now and you have a full keyboard in front of you. Please try to form full sentences with proper punctuation and spelling.

Anybody pointing out grammatical errors in this post will be hung, drawn and quartered.

Seachmall

What OS would be best for the course? I've a MacBook but would it be best to run windows in a virtualBox? Are there any Windows specific programs or should I be fine with OSX?

Also, what are the hours like? (I'm a lazy bollox).

Thanks,
S.

mid

Hey there, I'll be starting in 1st year Comp systems as well. does anyone know how many hours of lectures we'll have per week?

IRISH DAYWALKER

im facing a big problem deciding wheter to accept this course or not i dont really have that much experience with computers other than downloading dvds and cds and using my ipod and using microsoft word thats about it really, would i be at a massive disadvantage if i did this course in september because of my lack of experience in computers??? thanks in advance

rmacm

Seachmall wrote: »

What OS would be best for the course? I've a MacBook but would it be best to run windows in a virtualBox? Are there any Windows specific programs or should I be fine with OSX?

Also, what are the hours like? (I'm a lazy bollox).

Thanks,
S.

It depends...some lecturers like to run Linux so with OSX you'll be ok given that it's BSD based. You can run Windows in Virtual Box too....not really essential as you could get by with the machines in the labs for your Windows needs. Lectures.....see my next answer.

mid wrote: »

Hey there, I'll be starting in 1st year Comp systems as well. does anyone know how many hours of lectures we'll have per week?

About 20 hours a week in 1st year if I remember right.

IRISH DAYWALKER wrote: »

im facing a big problem deciding wheter to accept this course or not i dont really have that much experience with computers other than downloading dvds and cds and using my ipod and using microsoft word thats about it really, would i be at a massive disadvantage if i did this course in september because of my lack of experience in computers??? thanks in advance

I'm not going to say it would put you at a disadvantage but it would help if you had some prior knowledge and an interest in computers in general.

Amberw122

Sure alot of people will be in the same boat. im not great at computers but i know the basics. They will have to go slow at first to accomodate people who have absolutely no knowledge of computer systems at all. Just keep on top of all your work nd id say you will be fine!!

The Don

Amberw122 wrote: »

Sure alot of people will be in the same boat. im not great at computers but i know the basics. They will have to go slow at first to accomodate people who have absolutely no knowledge of computer systems at all. Just keep on top of all your work nd id say you will be fine!!

Yes they do start off slowly. I didn't know much more than you or IRISH DAYWALKER but I picked it up along the way. I kept on top of the work (in first year ) and found that it was pretty easy. If you think of things in a structured way then it will all come easily to you.

Anyway, if you are having a lot of trouble most of the lab/tutorial teaching assistants never had any problems in staying after the allotted time to help people out. We even got a few to give us an extra 2 hour slot to help us with. Also almost everyone in your class will be in the same boat and ye will help each other out.

Seachmall

rmacm wrote: »

It depends...some lecturers like to run Linux so with OSX you'll be ok given that it's BSD based. You can run Windows in Virtual Box too....not really essential as you could get by with the machines in the labs for your Windows needs.

What Linux Distros are used? Do they just use them in passing or teach them in depth?

Sorry about all the questions, just excited is all

Amberw122

The Don wrote: »

Yes they do start off slowly. I didn't know much more than you or IRISH DAYWALKER but I picked it up along the way. I kept on top of the work (in first year ) and found that it was pretty easy. If you think of things in a structured way then it will all come easily to you.

Anyway, if you are having a lot of trouble most of the lab/tutorial teaching assistants never had any problems in staying after the allotted time to help people out. We even got a few to give us an extra 2 hour slot to help us with. Also almost everyone in your class will be in the same boat and ye will help each other out.

Thanks thats really put my mind at rest! went to ul today....its soooo big haha i know im going to be the one who gets lost on the first day

IRISH DAYWALKER

thanks everyone this has put my mind at ease i think is should do ok in this course now. one more question 20 hours a week sounds grand but what about assignments will i have plenty of spare time to go out on student nights and stuff?

Amberw122

sur 20 hours a week is only like 5 hours a day so ul have loads of spare time!!!

rmacm

Seachmall wrote: »

What Linux Distros are used? Do they just use them in passing or teach them in depth?

Sorry about all the questions, just excited is all

Fedora is the usual distro.....in 4th year you get your own machine and you can have pretty much whatever you want on it although if you stray outside the XP/Vista + Fedora setup you probably won't get support for it off the IT people in the department.

Depends on the lecturer some of them love Linux and will use it all the time themselves and some of the examples in their notes will be based on Linux. You're not exactly hand held through learning Linux also there's plenty of documentation online......you'll get to know the man command pretty well

Peteee

Seachmall wrote: »

What Linux Distros are used? Do they just use them in passing or teach them in depth?

Sorry about all the questions, just excited is all

It was Fedora a few years ago, and they'll probably still be using some sort of Red Hat based distro.

You pick up Linux as you go along, and theres a OS module in 3rd year that goes into the internals of the minix OS.

thewheel2.0

Right so i have my MacBook with OSX and Windows 7 RC1 running on it. I know my way around both very well but Ive zero experience with Linux. Do i need Linux to do home assignments? (I don't want to be stuck in computer labs till all hours)

Also i have Win 7 RC1 installed is there any compatibility issues with it should i revert back to XP or whats the story?

rmacm

thewheel2.0 wrote: »

Right so i have my MacBook with OSX and Windows 7 RC1 running on it. I know my way around both very well but Ive zero experience with Linux. Do i need Linux to do home assignments? (I don't want to be stuck in computer labs till all hours)

Also i have Win 7 RC1 installed is there any compatibility issues with it should i revert back to XP or whats the story?

You'll be ok with OSX as it's based on BSD which is pretty close to Linux in the grand scheme of things.

You'll also be fine with Windows 7 too.

In the labs in college they will more than likely have either a mix of Win2K and Linux or Vista and Linux so with Win 7 and OSX you should be fine.

Zeouterlimits

Just to confirm (popping into 2nd year myself) that in the labs it's XP & Fedora.
They don't really "teach" linux per say, they leave it up to you to do what you want, doesn't matter that OS you use.
Enjoy guys .

Peteee

Zeouterlimits wrote: »

in the labs it's XP

Good to see UL on the forefront of technology by using a 8 year old OS. Truly cutting edge!

sceptre

Peteee wrote: »

Good to see UL on the forefront of technology by using a 8 year old OS. Truly cutting edge!

Well, if you can think of a good reason to upgrade all the machines to Vista, Mr "my trousers are quite clever indeed"...

rmacm

Peteee wrote: »

Good to see UL on the forefront of technology by using a 8 year old OS. Truly cutting edge!

If I go home and boot your laptop what OS will I find on it?

If it is Vista/Win 7 I'll make sure it's XP or 2000 by the time I'm finished with it :P

kaimera

rmacm wrote: »

If I go home and boot your laptop what OS will I find on it?

If it is Vista/Win 7 I'll make sure it's XP or 2000 by the time I'm finished with it :P

ssshhh we don't talk about the stoled laptop

cronos

Peteee wrote: »

Good to see UL on the forefront of technology by using a 8 year old OS. Truly cutting edge!

Think it was windows 2000 last year.

Seachmall

I couldn't make the orientation week so I'm wondering what we have first thing Monday? Are we using the timetable given online?

I just don't want to miss my first lectures

IRISH DAYWALKER

we were given different timetables durng orientation some peolpe got A some got B and C they are all different

mid

Seachmall wrote: »

I couldn't make the orientation week so I'm wondering what we have first thing Monday? Are we using the timetable given online?

I just don't want to miss my first lectures

I think the first hour Monday (9am-10am) will be the same for everyone as its a lecture, but the remainder of the day will be different depending on if you got A,B or C.

Monday, 09:00-10:00, CS4011 in room C1-063

IRISH DAYWALKER- Do you have this for 1st hour also?

Seachmall

mid wrote: »

I think the first hour Monday (9am-10am) will be the same for everyone as its a lecture, but the remainder of the day will be different depending on if you got A,B or C.

Do you know how they divided the groups up (e.g. alphabetically)? It might give me an idea as to where I should be (if not I'll just pick my own group for the time-being).

mid

Seachmall wrote: »

Do you know how they divided the groups up (e.g. alphabetically)? It might give me an idea as to where I should be (if not I'll just pick my own group for the time-being).

dont know sorry.

If you take the following hours from the online timetable it will match timetable B.

Monday
09-10 Lec
10-11 Lab
12-13 Tut
16-17 Lec
17-18 Lec

Seachmall

Brilliant, thanks for the quick responses.

-Kenny-

hey just to let you know im in first year of computer systems, class A !!! hopefully ill see ya there tomorrow morning :pac:

IRISH DAYWALKER

MID, ya thats my first lecture tommorow morning