Anyone in college who could help me out?

lucaluca
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
As you may know, I've been looking at getting a new computer once I go into college next fall. I'm pretty much set on a laptop because I think it'll be more versatile and more useful to use in college (taking notes, study groups, getting homework done while doing the laundry, etc). Is there anyone in college here who could tell me if they actually use a laptop's portability? Or, if you have a desktop, if you've ever wished you had the portability of a laptop? The reason I ask is because before I buy a $1500 iBook, I may just want to get a much more powerful, cheaper eMac. I have a laptop currently but I never bring it anywhere, but I'm not in college yet.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 5
    ghost_user_nameghost_user_name Posts: 22,667member
    A buddy of mine got an iBook for this past year, which was his first semester at UMich. He is currently selling it to buy an imac for the fall, because he said it was rare that he ever took his iBook anywhere to do anything productive with it.



    I think it might be useful if you want to go to the library and study, and if the library allows you to do that, but he told me he hardly ever took it with him.
  • Reply 2 of 5
    ebbyebby Posts: 3,110member
    I have a laptop, a desktop, and am a student. A laptop is best, and I would select a PBook Ti, but don't fork over the extra $$ for the fastest. They are all powerful compared to what I use. (Powerbook 400Mhz firewire.) If you plan to take a photoshop class, a desktop with a scanner might be helpful, but you could buy adapters for your PBook. The main limitation is memory. Try to use only one ram slot, and fill it with the biggest chip. In the event you ever need more, you don't have a useless chip floating around. Also, it may help to get a external hard drive. I filled mine internal HD up fast. As with network... Well, I'm pisses at my school. You can't plug/connect your computer to their network, use their zip drives, or put your laptop in target disk mode and connect over firewire. Forget computer labs, they are useless and only built for bragging rights. Desktops are better in the sence that they are upgradable and a but faster. But definatly go with a laptop.
  • Reply 3 of 5
    trevormtrevorm Posts: 841member
    Hey I had a Powermac g4 but once I started my Law degree I got a powerbook 800 and have found it the greatest asset to have. Its small and less obtrusive than my desktop and great for doing work in the library! Airport is goo too, my uni has Airport in the library
  • Reply 4 of 5
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    Thanks for the help people! I think what I'll do is keep my current laptop until a few weeks into school, and just see if I use it often enough to be worth getting another laptop. If not I'd get a desktop.
  • Reply 5 of 5
    alikatalikat Posts: 2member
    [quote]Originally posted by Luca Rescigno:

    <strong>Is there anyone in college here who could tell me if they actually use a laptop's portability?</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Luca,

    I just finished my Masters at UMich and I took my FW PB G3 with me to class almost every day. I took notes on it, worked on projects, connected to the network via Airport and was able to keep up on my work email while I was at class (was working full time while attending classes.) I am SO glad I chose the Powerbook over a G4 tower or iMac. I use the portability at home, too. I am not restricted to one corner at home to do work, surf, etc., which I love.

    One thing you might want to check before you make your decision is check with the university you'll be attending, and see what kind of network offerings they have for students; you could email their computing support people, or see if your university will put you into contact with a current student who has some experience with computing on that campus. Things I would want to know: Are students allowed to bring a laptop to the library and connect to the network? Do they offer wireless accessibility? That would definitely have been a factor in my decision. My school at UMich, the School of Information, had a wireless network set up that students could connect to (after registering their MAC address with the computing folks) from several of the classrooms in the school, and there was also a WAP available in the library where the school's lab was. That was nice because I could do work at home, go to the lab to meet with my group project members, upload the work I had done at home to our project folder.. it was great. If the university hadn't offered this kind of connectivity, however, I probably would have given more consideration to a desktop.



    Good luck!



    Ali
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