The Basics of Good Coffee

Photo from flickr user Ben Cumming.

This post is part of the on-going Coffee Week series.

Before we get into the nitty-grindy of making lattes and selecting the right beans, it helps to know the elements of a perfect cup of coffee.

Given the simplicity of coffee, one might think it would be difficult to mess up. But the elements of a good cup of coffee are also very delicate. Without the proper attention, you could easily make a crappy cup of coffee (and most people do, day in and day out without realizing it).

More coffee after the jump!

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Featured Desk Space: Bunk Cave

Dan Miller's desk has quite a few nice touches. Schweet!

Reader Dan Miller (@jazzdan) submitted his desk for the HackCollege Featured Desk Spaces feature. He's currently a freshman at Marist College majoring in information systems.

He's got a second monitor powered by his 15" MacBook Pro. Next to his laptop he's got a "stuff-I-take-with-me-when-I-leave-the-dorm" basket.

He didn't mention it in his email, but I couldn't help but notice two nice touches: the hook for the headphones and the power strip attached to the bunk frame. Ballin'.

If you'd like your desk to be featured on HackCollege, shoot an email over to room@hackcollege.com with a description and pictures of your desk. Don't forget to tell us a little bit about yourself! 

Introducing Coffee Week

Ahh, coffee. An essential ingredient of productivity, especially for students. The mixture of it's chocolaty smell, it's caffeine-bestowing abilities and its social aspects give many students a reason to wake up in the morning. Nothing can beat a great cup of coffee.

Since we here at HackCollege are caffeine addicts, we've decided to put together a feature we're calling Coffee Week. Throughout the next two weeks we will be bringing you daily posts about how to make the perfect cup of coffee as a college student (and save money doing it).

So keep an eye out for the following posts over the next two weeks:

• Brewing methods that are faster, cheaper and better than your drip machine
• The basics of good coffee
• The dangers of caffeine and caffeine alternatives
• Making a better latte without a Walmart espresso machine
• How to roast your own beans in a popcorn maker
• Why you should be looking for "direct trade" coffee and not fair trade
• Making a better latte with a Walmart espresso machine
• Making killer iced coffee
• Finding the best coffee beans in your area

How Net Neutrality Affects College Students

Net neutrality is an interesting concept, in that we're a practicing it right now. Net neutrality keeps all of the websites we read coming in at the same speed. What the internet service providers (ISP) could do is cut deals with larger companies so their webpages could load faster.  This would net the ISPs like Comcast, Time Warner and Verizon more profit. This could effect students in at least two ways. 

Starting a Website

Let's start out with an example. There are two video sharing sites, one is YouTube and the other was just started by a recent college graduate.  While our friend creating the video site is putting on the finishing touches, Youtube is also finishing up a deal with Comcast to make their site load faster than other video sharing sites. Now our friend at the startup, may have a great idea but, more people will wind up going to YouTube because it loads faster. 

If this type of practice were put into place then it would be harder for startups to gain traction because larger companies would have a leg up on the competition.

Capping and Regulating Internet Use

If the ISPs stopped being net neutral, then internet bills would effectively look like cell phone bills. You would be charged a certain amount of data and then once you went over it, they would charge extra. 

Let's say you are a prolific gamer. You have a level 80 character on World of Warcraft and are playing constantly. If this were to be put into play then you would have to find a plan that works and pay for it. In another case, a web worker might have to spend most of his or her day online fixing websites and publishing content. This would kill if you worked out of home.  

The FCC may, in a presentation scheduled for sometime today at the Brookings Institute, announce plans to keep the net neutral that way. The Obama administration has taken more of an active role in the net neutrality debate. Saying that everyone should get the same access to the same internet.

What do you think of net neutrality? Comment below to share!

Images via Wikipedia, Geek and Poke Comics

Save Textbook Reciepts - New Tax Credit

Here's the story. Part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that Obama passed a while back included some changes to how students get tax credits for education. Most of it just means you're probably elligible for a little more money in 2009 and 2010 (you can get the deets from the IRS). Beyond numbers, a little bit of the actual langauge changed. Now, "course materials" are covered. This means you can get the tax credit for stuff that you buy out-of-pocket, not just for tuition. (Since it's a credit, you'll still get the cash even if your income ends up being diddly-squat at the end of the year.)

If you're paying your whole tuition, this is probably useless. The credit will already reimburse you up to $2,500 for that. However, if grants and scholarships already cover those costs, the new act gives you another outlet to claim the credit towards -- textbooks, paint supplies, lab fees, etc.

Not everything is settled on the IRS side of things (they still haven't released the 2009 Publication 970, which covers this change), so for now, if you're not sure, just save all of your "course material" receipts until tax time.

[photo via Josh Holderbaum]

Featured Desk Space: Jack on Tap

Tim Merchant's desk setup at school in Seaham. Notice the Jack Daniel's tap. 

Today's featured desk space comes from Tim Merchant (@tmerchant), long-time HackCollege fan from across the pond and business marketing student in Seaham. He submitted a picture of his current desk setup, which is one part study, one part party.

Tim's got a second monitor, Moleskine, white MacBook and the awesome Apple wireless aluminum keyboard. Or is it aluminium?

Although Tim may be residing in the UK, he still has a thing for the States as evidenced by his poster of New York and his Jack Daniel's liquor tap. Now I'm trying to find space on my desk for such a thing...

If you'd like your desk to be featured on HackCollege, shoot an email over to room@hackcollege.com with a description and pictures of your desk. Don't forget to tell us a little bit about yourself! 

Get a Head Start on Your Job Search Using LinkedIn

With our economy crawling back from this volatile and sunken state, college students and graduates need every advantage they can get when it comes to job hunting. LinkedIn is a social network site for professionals and people aspring to become one of them.

Instead of having friends like Facebook, LinkedIn calls their business oriented relationships connections. Users can connect with people from past jobs, members of the same industry, or fellow students or alumni at their school.

The profile you create for the site is a living resume. Key elements of a LinkedIn profile include, job history, specialties, recommendations and education among other things. This is perfect for college students.

Companies also post jobs on the site in hopes of finding potential employees. You can search for the jobs posted on the site but it doesn't stop there. LinkedIn also includes the results from other job sites taking you to their application page with a click.

Before going into an internship with a company, create a profile.  While becoming Facebook friends or Twitter followers of the people you meet at this internship, making them a connection will take the guess work out of why you still acknowledge their existence and vice versa.

Image: The SJSU Career Center

Have you used LinkedIn? What have your experiences been? Comment below to share!

The Best of the Back To School Gadget Roundups

Everyone and their mother has spent the last couple of weeks telling you about which gadgets you need, and which you really don't. Sometimes, they tell you about gadgets you think you need, but really don't,.

Either way, if you're headed back to school, or already back at school, and flush with a few dollars from that last summer paycheck, there's some great stuff out there to spend it on, and a few tips on what to avoid.

Gizmodo's got a great article with 10 things you need, and 10 you definitely don't. (Need: a durable laptop. Don't: a laptop lock.) It's smart advice, and you'll put your money in the right place.  They've also got a roundup of 10 awesome iPhone apps for students, in case you're the cool kid with the iPhone.

Then, there's Wired. The article's called "The Best Gadgets for College Kids," which is a fair title, but it really ought to be called "Gadgets that are sweet but that you could never afford ever ever ever." Wired's got some great products to buy, but is not exactly aware of the fact that we're in college, we're broke, and we don't want to spend $400 on a voice recorder when I can get one that does the whole "record your voice" thing for about $35.

The winner for most complete roundup goes to Engadget. Engadget, another awesome gadget site, has a massive roundup with gadgets in every category, for every price range. Need an alarm clock, but don't have $100 to spend on one? Engadget figured out the best for your budget, regardless of what it is.

College is one of the many things that can be made even more awesome by technology. If you've got a few bucks to spare, make it something high-tech. Because everything's more fun on an iPhone, right?

  Photo: SlipstreamJC