If your 1st year accomodation with university, then you don't have to worry about internet. All you need is a LAN card on your laptop or desktop. They will provide you with internet. In Sheffield, all of the halls do have internet connection while some of self-cater accomodations do not have it.

If you are staying outside, it could a hassle to apply one. There are plenty of broadband companies in UK. Some company use phone line while some use cable. It depends which company that you subscribe to and the area you are staying at.

Yup, but bear in mind that there's no p2p sharing on university connections
Can't wait to move out, to get "freedom"

Ic. So it's fine if I don't have a modem?

No p2p? Aiyoh...susah...

if u're staying outside university halls, there are other things u'd have to worry about like phone/internet bills, electricity, heating, water bla bla bla. yeah, p2p comes with a price. broadband is everywhere, but they dont come cheap. there are cheap ones, but they come with a catch.

2mb broadband is very common now. many have shifted to 4mb, and i myself am using 8mb, and if i'm not mistaken 16mb is just around the corner. broadband costs about GBP14-25 a month (4-8mb), and the cheaper ones come with 1 or 2 gb bandwith limit per month. shitty aint it?

that price is not inclusive BT landline (telephone line) or cable costs. there are offer packages though. u might wanna keep an eye on that.

Do watch out on filesharing since some universities are very very strict on this matter. However, there are alternatives depending on whether you find them or not

Yeap. It's fine.

IIRC, my friend's internet service got suspended and she got warning from university admin because she is sharing a file in P2P software during her stay in university accomodation. So, do it at your own risk.

Certain area doesn't support the maximum speed given. Last time, my area only has 1.5~2 MB only while other areas are using 2~3MB. Sigh

And yes, living outside is not as easy as living at university accomodation. Bills, bills and more bills. Contracts too. Hectic but good training for money management (and not to forget contract reading too).

This post has been edited by goliath: Aug 5 2006, 01:20 AM

and one more thing.... is bit comet allow to use in the university accommodation or not?

Bit comet, Bitlord or any other Torrent clients are p2p sharing applications. So the answer is no. Some universities will block it outright, some will not block but have heavy penalties if they find out you've been p2p-ing.

my university accommodation even banned us from sharing files via windows filesharing

Question about excess baggage.

HOw much do airlines normally charge for excess baggage on the KUL-LHR route?

If too prohibitive, would it be more affordable to pack and send the excess items via post?

Anybody did this before?

yes, it is more affordable to actually send parcels than to bring it with u. when u first come to the UK, there's a clause in the customs ruling that allow u to bring in ur personal stuffs without being taxed. well, it must be pre-owned items, but they dont really check.

so when i came here, i brought about 25kg of baggage (pc, clothings, toilettries and other important stuff to survive for 3-4 weeks). i sent the rest of my stuff via fedex (speakers, books, printer, rice cooker, extra shoes, clothings etc, 20kg max) and it costs about RM450 for 4-5 days delivery.

last time i sent an 8kg excess baggage from LHR to KUL and it costed me 75quid (RM500++).

Mind you it is very, and I mean VERY expensive.

The last time I remember mine was overloaded by 12kilos (damn MAS-20kg only) and when i asked how much it was to pay the fine, IIRC, the lady said it was about �25 per kilo of excess baggage. Neither would I recommend sending back your baggages, i mean as students, it wouldn't be very economical to send back our baggages. So the best bet would be to find airline companies that offer the best student rates around with baggage allowances of >35kilos. The last time i heard, SIA's student baggage weight allowance was about 42kilos? Holy.. I might consider taking KLM back from Heathrow the next time i fly back.

This post has been edited by teehk_tee: Aug 7 2006, 09:51 PM

Hi, I am new here.
I am taking civil engineering course in Birmingham University. I going there on this coming september. Just wana know got any ppl here study there too....

Also, I heard that racist and crime rate at Birmingham is very high, is that true ?

right. i just found this thread. hehe! going to uk too this sep. looking all over for tips now. and yeah. thanks thread starter ^^

btw, hi everyone ^^

Wah a lot of pple going to UK study too.

Now now, just create a topic in Kopitiam for all students in the UK to gather okay?

Try to keep this thread clean of chatters. If anyone of you is kind hearted (and free) enough, do create a topic at kopitiam containing the nick/location of the members who are currently in UK so if advice is needed somewhere, someone might be there

Unfortunately as a govt scholar, I can only fly MAS

Guess have to take azarimy's tip, by posting my stuff earlier. GBP25/kg is a lot of moolah.

42KGs??!! Are you sure? The only time I could think of is they allow this weight if the flight is empty.

Well, from what I heard, you could hear siren, regardless whether it is ambulance or police, every hour. Anyway, as long as you mind your own business, you are safe. Ignore whatever they slurred at you.

From here to UK, they charge RM150 or so for every additional kg. So, shipping is the best method. Post it a day or so before you leave to UK. So, it will reach approx. 2 or 3 weeks.

42 kgs?! (For SIA)

I don't think so. It's actually 20 kgs and they will give u an extra 10 kgs if u apply for it.

Wow friend me too and same course as you. hee... we will become classmate soon. ya this thing i also heard also... not sure how actually