Tech which back-to-school students should avoid

An iPod may be glamourous and fashionable but iTunes is the killer here. Using iTunes to download music and films from the Internet will slowly churn up your bank balance and eat away at your dedicated food shopping fund. The best way is to get a subscription service - Napster or Zune - to name a couple.

You can read the article, "10 bits of tech the back-to-school student should avoid", which corresponds to this gallery.

The simple reason behind not wanting multiple monitors is that even though they may be useful, you will struggle to find the space to fit onto your desk in your university halls.

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A Windows Home Server is great for sharing amongst your friends, but will find it difficult to use and to configure on a university network. It will only really be viable for one person - you - and even then, that takes the entire point out of having a home server.

You can read the article, "10 bits of tech the back-to-school student should avoid", which corresponds to this gallery.

Digital pens often require digital paper and over time that will also eat away at your limited cashflow. You're better off just having an ordinary pen and ordinary paper, writing down your notes then computerising them afterwards. At least then there's a better chance that the stuff you learn from the lecture will actually go in, rather than letting the computer do it for you.

You can read the article, "10 bits of tech the back-to-school student should avoid", which corresponds to this gallery.

A Kindle, again, like the digital pen and iTunes, will cost you money - a lot of money in the long run. If you get an ordinary e-reader, at least then you can download the PDF's from your lecture and put them on there for free to read over at a later date.

You can read the article, "10 bits of tech the back-to-school student should avoid", which corresponds to this gallery.

A massive television will not fit in your cramped room in your university halls of residence. Plus, if you don't have an aerial socket in your room, you are definitely stuffed.

You can read the article, "10 bits of tech the back-to-school student should avoid", which corresponds to this gallery.

An online backup solution is up to the individual, but personally I would rather have something that stays offline on a separate and dedicated storage drive. Also, if your network speeds aren't great, then this will be a very slow process.

You can read the article, "10 bits of tech the back-to-school student should avoid", which corresponds to this gallery.

A portable DVD player will only last for 2, maybe 3 hours on battery if you are lucky. But when would you need it to use it? As you're walking across campus? Now that is just crazy talk.

You can read the article, "10 bits of tech the back-to-school student should avoid", which corresponds to this gallery.

Making a distinction between work and play is important, especially if you are working and playing in the same place. Having a wired keyboard and mouse actually attaches you to your desk letting you work there and then, as opposed to being too comofortable and working from the confines of your own bed.

You can read the article, "10 bits of tech the back-to-school student should avoid", which corresponds to this gallery.

A university's network infrastructure often forbids wireless routers on the network to prevent flooding. This is for the benefit of all students and not just you. The chances are - 95% maybe - that the router will simply not work.

You can read the article, "10 bits of tech the back-to-school student should avoid", which corresponds to this gallery.