News — When heading back to school, there are a few essential tech items you will need in order to make your school life a little bit easier. Here are some tips and tricks for using consumer tech to achieve academic success:
• Smartphones are a great multi-tool so use them to their full potential. Not just for talk or text, these phones can also be handy for actual classroom use. By simply downloading apps on your phone you can minimize the amount of other tools you need to buy and carry. For example, there are apps for graphic calculators, voice recorders, notepads and calendars that you can download and use on your phone, rather than buying separate devices.
• Netbooks are a tempting purchase because of their low price tag and compact size, but they don’t necessarily deliver. Notebooks are always a better choice than netbooks.
• Notebooks give you much more storage space, allow you to operate multiple programs at the same time without slowing down other programs, and can also be found in a small, compact size. If price concerns you, don’t waste your money on a netbook. Spend that extra money on something reliable and efficient that will get you through all those late-night, last-minute essays.
• If you can’t afford a new laptop, upgrade your old one with a Solid State Drive (SSD). It will only cost you about $150 and will instantly make your computer faster.
• A printer is a student necessity. Although libraries and other campus labs offer printing services, having the ability to print from your dorm room is important for those all-nighters. But there are a number of things to keep in mind when purchasing a printer:
o Printers that have multiple functions can actually be a bad purchase from a value standpoint. Consider: if one of those four functions breaks, the whole printer is useless.
o How are you going to use your printer? If you are in a general arts program, a wireless printer is probably sufficient. They are usually compact, offer standard quality and can be used almost anywhere.
o For stationary printers, go for laser printers, especially if you are in a visual art-related program. They offer clean and sharp quality that will be sure to get you a great mark on your assignments.
• Wireless printers are also a great purchase for student housing. Because of their flexibility, they are easily shared amongst a number of people, which can be really cost-effective.
ARB Labs is focused on custom interactive digital display technology including immersive window and holographic displays for shopping centres, biomedical labs, arenas and museums. The company also provides services that include reverse engineering and optimization of design for high-tech products.
ARB Labs is one of 24 companies currently incubating at Ryerson University’s Digital Media Zone. For more digitally-themed back to school expert tips, visit the Back to School page at .
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