Writing papers
You might find it more convenient to have these applications on your personal computer. Essentially, to write your papers you need a Word-processing program. The most popular choice is Microsoft Word, for which you have to purchase a license.
A brand new laptop usually comes with Windows and a 60-day trial version of Microsoft Office. The 60 day trial period is definitely shorter than 4 years you are going to have at Truman, so don’t count on that. However, being a student means you can save money. If you have an @truman.edu email account, you can purchase the entire Microsoft Office suite for only $60!
Truman has contracted with Microsoft and E-Academy to setup an online store to sell certain Microsoft software at significant discount levels to you as a student. You may login to the e-academy store with your Truman account to authenticate and purchase.
However, if you do not want to pay anything at all, you still have many options. There is a complete, free office suite that reads, writes and behaves like the Microsoft Office tools, called Open Office, provided by Sun (now Oracle). It is very complete feature-wise and is very good for everyday use. Abiword is another program that really works, and is fast.
Other software that you might need
- If you are using Windows, an anti-virus program is a required to access the Truman Wireless Network. If you have a current anti-virus program and it works, that is fine. If you don’t have one, you can download one free here. You need to provide your Truman ID and password to download it. If you don’t have one already, just wait and come back here
- Truman is a Mathematica Campus. That means ITS provides Mathematica to students for free. Mathematica is one of the most powerful programs related to Math. Mathematica runs on Windows, Mac and Linux, so you’re covered.
- Many companies provide a “student page” or “for education” from which you can find discounts to purchase their software.