At the introductory levels, EE and CS don't overlap as much and the compsci major (at Duke) is based in C++ (although you can start it in java, kind of). So thats why I'm taking C++.

I think I'm going to partition my hard disk and install linux. It will be a good learning expirience and I can program locally instead of on the university's servers. I'm thinking I'll go with Red Hat (since I'm a beginner) unless it would be better to go w/ debian because that's what the empeg uses.

At this point I'll leave the the kernal hacking to Mark and others and I'll write in what I know, C++. I'll probably learn C in my oh-so-extensive spare time later. Any other insight is appreciated.