Sitting with a laptop, a phone and a decent internet connection in a comfy seat on a train is, these days, almost as productive as being in a nice office in a comfy chair with acomputer, phone and decent internet connection.
Other students are turning toward computer science because of a change in social mores: A backlash against Wall Street bailouts means careers in the financial sector may now carry a negative stigma, said Adam Cannon, associate chair for undergraduate education in Columbia's department of computer science.
It is like trying to design achair without understanding who will be sitting in it, or creating software without considering on what kind of computer it will be installed.