Discuss Campus Roundup - Save the Site Edition

As usual there are tons of great discussions underway over at Discuss Campus, but for this roundup we'll highlight the one that ultimately matters most:

Help Keep Discuss Campus Alive!

Hi Everyone,

So the company that hosts Discuss Campus is changing how they are structuring their accounts. (Stack Exchange is the company, they allow anyone to make a site like Discuss Campus.)

They recently went in a different direction with their business model. Rather than charging for the service, they want to bring all of the sites under one umbrella. This means that Discuss Campus is likely to become college.stackexchange.com or something along those lines.

But for that to happen, we need to prove that we're dedicate enough to keep this thing going.

To get the ball rolling, visit the proposal site, create an account and then "Follow" the project. Once we have 60 followers, we'll move onto the next stage.

Please share this with your friends and let's keep what we've got going! 

It would be a real shame to lose the site and its growing community for something like this.  Even if you aren't a regular at the site, take a moment to "follow" the project. You have to create an account, but you can even just link it to a bunch of other services, so it will literally only take about 30 seconds. Thanks for all your help!

Stumped on What To Pack? What To Take To College Can Help

One small step for student. One giant leap for freedom. Photo courtesy of Flickr user dvortygirl. Licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.0.I'm hardly an expert on packing for college. In fact, I'm quite the opposite. If it's a weekend trip or quick getaway, I've got it covered. Weeklong endeavors with the family? No sweat. But living on your own is a daunting endeavor. Thankfully, the weeks-long process and otherwise inevitable arguments with parents can be avoided. Enter What To Take To College.

Now, the site didn't exactly the get the Web 2.0 naming memo like Twitter or Tumblr, but its interface embodies the principles of simplicity and smart design that has becoming the new meme in web design. It tells incoming students what is "recommended" and what is "optional", breaks those items into categories like "School Supplies" and "Hygiene and Beauty", and provides links to Amazon for those items - be it a laptop or a desk lamp (And this is a good time as ever to use Amazon - check out Mike's post on Amazon Student for more details).

What To Take To College is all-inclusive. Frankly, it's probably a bit excessive in some areas and completely lacking in others. For example, I see no logical reason to bring your high school yearbook (granted, it is listed as optional) but silverware and non-disposable plates aren't listed in "Kitchen Essentials". Most guys won't need makeup or ponytail holders, either.

What To Take to College is not meant to be your final college packing list, though. It's a place to start, to figure out what you currently own and what you need to buy, and it is ideal as a place to begin discussions on packing with the parental units.

Do you remember your first time packing for college? What'd you do right, and what'd you do wrong? Leave it in the comments or hit us up with your first-time packing experiences on Twitter.

Lenovo A70z Giveaway!

HackCollege is giving away a shiny new Lenovo ThinkCentre A70z!

Contest will run as follows:

• Write the word "HackCollege" in a creative manner for the public to see. Bigger might be better...
• Email a photo (or video) of our name in public to luke@hackcollege.com
• The most creative submission, as chosen by the HackCollege writing team wins the Lenovo A70z.
• Contest closes Friday July 16th at 11:59PM
• Any submissions which include any form of property damage will be automatically disqualified.        

Good Luck!

P.S., We appreciate the pretty drawings many of you have been sending us, unfortunately we're look for something a little more bad ass... After all, we are giving away a computer! In the picture above, Kelly broke into a lecture hall at night and wrote HackCollege on the blackboard. Hopefully that'll lead you along the right path. 

Lenovo ThinkCentre A70z Review

The Lenovo ThinkCentre A70z is an all-in-one PC designed to be used primarily in business settings. Although this no frills computer will not be the flashiest rig in your residence hall, those looking to get some serious work done on a student budget will be pleased.

 Several months ago Lenovo sent me an A70z to integrate into my daily workflow. I have put it through it’s paces in a variety of different use scenarios to provide you with a student specific review. Read on for the review and a chance to win this computer!

Click to read more ...

Evernote Adds App Store-like "Trunk"

The Evernote Trunk could eventually add a lot of useful student-centric services to the already great Evernote. You are using Evernote, right?  We'll likely be putting up a new how-to guide for using the great note-taking, file-storing, image-reading application in the near future, but in the meantime just thought we'd pass along news of their newest update.  Out today, Evernote's update tweaked a few UI elements in the desktop apps, but the biggest addition is a brand new "Trunk" feature.

The Trunk is essentially an app store, showing off a number of applications and hardware for all platforms that play nice with Evernote.  At this point it acts more as a catalog than a real app store, as functionality is limited to linking to the various services, but Evernote CEO Phil Libin said that this will change in the future.  Soon, users will be able to add services directly to their Evernote client, rather than installing tons of different apps that interface with the service.

The most interesting addition to the service that Libin hinted at is the addition of memory games sold through the Trunk.  It may sound a little juvenile, but I wouldn't hesitate to pay for the ability to, say, automatically turn my class notes into digital flash cards. 

Do you use Evernote in school?  How do you think the Trunk will change the experience for you? Let us know in the comments.

[Evernote Trunk via TechCrunch]

Three Tips to Making the Best of Your Boring Internship

We've all felt this way at work at one time or another. Image courtesy of Flickr user sunshinecity and licensed under CC by SA 2.0Internships are pretty rad. Here at HackCollege, we've got advice to help you choose the best internship, make the most of it, and turn it into a job. However, as some of you might have figured out by now, not every internship is super awesome. Some are actually rather boring. And by "rather boring," I mean that you can feel your brain turning to mush faster than if you watched all of the Twilight movies in a row.

Thankfully I have a sweet internship this summer, but I've definitely been in this situation a couple times before. Even if you feel like gouging your eyes out rather than sitting in that damn cubicle for another five minutes, there are still ways to make the best of your unfortunate internship circumstances.

Click to read more ...

Get Amazon Prime Free For One Year as a Student

Via AmazonHave you heard of Amazon Prime? Probably, but if you haven't here's the low-down. As a Prime Member you pay $79 yearly for free two day shipping on any order on nearly all things on Amazon (including textbooks, school supplies). Pretty solid right?

Well, today Amazon rolled out a membership for students where they will get this service free for one year. So let's get this straight, it's like free free shipping. Wow. Free squared. 

You'll be sent some promotional emails with discounts from Amazon. Your subscription to the service is linked to you receiving these emails. If you opt out of the emails you opt out of Amazon prime. Also, you need a valid .edu email address.  A small price to pay... definitely. The link's below:

Amazon Student (via Amazon) 

Google Unveils App Inventor for Students and Educators

Google's WYSIWYG App Inventor could be a game changer for students and professors.Well, well, well. This is mighty interesting.  Google has just unveiled a web-based app creation tool for Android, and it seems to be aimed squarely at students and educators.  Just imagine: professors making apps for their classes, or club presidents making apps for their members...pretty exciting stuff.  The coolest part is that it doesn't require you to know any code at all. That doesn't mean it will be idiot-proof, but this could go a long way towards closing the app-gap between Android and iOS.  

It's still a closed beta right now, but we've requested an invite and we'll write up a full review as soon as we can get our hands on it.  In the meantime, sign up for your own invite and let us know how you like it.

[App Inventor via Ars Technica]