Internet Usage
Internet usage at TIP is strictly monitored at all times. However, if a class is in a computer lab, there are at least one or two students with sidebars of non-TIP related items, such as e-mail, MySpace, Facebook, celebrity sex tapes (long story), disturbing Krokodil images, and the like. However, this is masked most of the time with TIP related research for class.
Prohibited internet usage is usually attempted during evening study, when it is less likely to be caught because of only one instructor. Unless of course, said class/instructor has the special room with the magical computer that can see what every student is doing. That's how to kill fun fast...
Non-prohibited, 'anything on the web' usage can happen during trips to the library, offered for evening activity at UGA and during free time at ASU. During free time @ East, one can go to Brown Computer Lab or Lilly Library and use computers.
As of 2013, TIP policy has changed to allow laptops. It has yet to be determined what kind of effect this will have on the amount of time TIPsters spend on the internet.
Internet Access by Campus
Updated by KJ4UBL on 6 July 2016.
Davidson
I'm writing this based on my experiences at Davidson T1 2014, when I took Cryptography, Codebreaking, and the Mathematics of Spying. TIPsters did (do?) not have access to the Faculty/Staff Wi-Fi. As such, about 200 students with roughly 225-235 devices total were crashing between 9 nine fifteen Wi-Fi routers (not counting those outside of Belk Residence Hall). Some overheated, others simply shut down due to network traffic. This, of course, meant there were fewer routers to process TIPster traffic.
Across the term, I ran several speed tests on SpeedTest.net and found out that during Free Time, after evening RAG meetings, and just about any other time TIPsters were all in Belk dorm, the Internet speed slowed to around 20 kbps. (When we weren't in the building, things weren't that much better across campus.) For you tech-savvy TIPsters, you know that speed is less than v.92 dialup! For you non-tech-savvy TIPsters, know that just about the only thing you will be able to get done is to stream low-quality audio from something like an Internet radio station that doesn't require you to download cover art (i.e. Spotify, YouTube Red, Apple Music, etc.)
RCs, TAs, instructors, and the entire Admin staff were given credentials to the aforementioned Faculty/Staff network. This network seldom went down, despite the WAPs broadcasting different SSIDs simultaneously. Weird, I know. Anyway, TIPsters in need of checking their e-mail or social media will have to settle for crazy slow download speeds, as the staff will not give up their credentials. I recall one classmate did get access to the Faculty/Staff network just to download a program for our Cryptography class, on the condition that he did no other browsing while connected, and he had to delete the network from his MacBook's memory.
Duke East & West
First off, it's worth noting that Duke's Wi-Fi is powered (as I recall) by brand-new 802.11ac routers. If this has changed since 2015, please updated this.
The flagship TIP campuses have free visitor Wi-Fi that makes it pretty easy to use the Internet on your mobile device. Naturally, this unencrypted connection is fairly slow. If you enroll in a course that requires the use of a Duke NetID, as most STEM courses may require, you can access the student-only Wi-Fi, which boasts speeds of over 70 Mbps! (It's fast.)
As of 2019 (and presumably 2020), East has unrestricted free internet access, and cell phones, laptops, and similar devices are subject to no formal restrictions (at least no strictly enforced ones).
Georgia Tech
Though not available in the past, Free WiFi is available to not only all students, but also parents and other Georgia Tech Visitors. It is usually very reliable campus-wide, though it can reduce speed at any time. Should a student stay at the Georgia Tech Hotel before or after the term, they do not have to re-sign into the network due to the device remaining on the same network.
Rollins
This section is a stub. Please help serve your fellow TIPsters by expanding it.
At Rollins the internet is free and unmonitored. The teacher network is the best and fastest.
Wake Forest
According to this TIPWiki edit, published in late July 2015, Wi-Fi access is restricted to staff (much like Davidson), but evidently moderately easy to gain access to by means of the F12 key. For the sake of my fellow TIPsters, I do not promote risking your TIP experience and hacking the Wi-Fi. If you do, all the more power to ya.
Rice University
Rice University has one of the stupidest internet networks of all time. The network would let you join through a seemingly normal popup. However eventually you realize if your phone goes off for 5 minutes your connection is cancelled. There were times when it took several attempts with varying combinations of forgetting the internet network, turning off the wi-fi, and restarting devices. However unlike some wifi networks the rice wifi network works at a very fast speed and it starts up instantly so that is worth all of the inconvenience.