What software will I need for College.

I have a Sager NP2096 (Vista 64 bit) on order for my son for College. At the moment, I have Microsoft Office 2007. (I hear Open Office has problems with MS Office 2007 files).

Can someone tell me, "in general", what would be the recommended software that would be needed on a laptop for College? He will be taking Business Computers as a major.

MS Office
Adobe
AV
Firewall
IE/Firefox

???????????

 

Open Office 3.0 opens Office 2007 files fine. But having Office 2007 would definitely be a plus.
http://www.microsoft.com/student/discounts/theultimatesteal-us/default.aspx
He'll just install whatever else he needs as required by the courses he takes.

 

I'm not sure what version you have but one note is the best solution for taking notes in class. I know i have it in my office 2007 version, but at my school i think we have student edition or something and its not installed. But other software wise would be normal like any other pc unless they tell him he needs a specific program once he starts.

 

Check the IT department web site for the school he will attend. It will have any specific recommendations and should list any software available either free or discounted to students through the university. Office 2007 if you already have it is good. The student version may be available through the school for free. There may be a statistical package or accounting software, but that varies by school. Most will list it on their web page or in course descriptions.

The most vital software will be security. Make sure there is a good firewall, anti-spyware and antivirus running and fully updated. On many campuses, there is an epidemic at the start of each semester as students return and plug in their unpatched machines that have been all over the worst parts of the internet, spreading whatever they have picked up over the campus network. If you plug in a computer without good protection during the first week of classes, expect to get infected.

 

As KimoT said, check first with the school itself. The IT department should have a list of the minimum school-wide specs your son should have, and the department he'll be entering should also have a list of department-specific (or even degree-specific) software he should have in addition to the school-wide minimum configuration.

Also, make sure that you check out what sort of offers the school has for so-called academically licensed software; most Microsoft products, for example, are significantly cheaper under an academic license than under a general retail license.