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Spliff · May 26, 2005, 10:26 PM

In less than a year, I'll be going back to university (for a 12-month program) after a 10-year absence. I'll be an old coot among young people and I'm going to feel more un-hip than usual.

I don't know how much school has changed since I last attended. Mainly, I need to know if laptops are now considered essential for school (taking notes, etc).

The reason I ask is because my iMac died yesterday—flyback transformer packed it in—and I need to get a new computer ASAP. My funds are limited. The 17" 2 Ghz iMac is a far better deal than the 12" Powerbook with combo drive. I'd get the iMac right away, but I'm concerned that I should get the Powerbook for school. I can't afford the 15" Powerbook and I won't consider an iBook because they're too underpowered for my needs.

Will I regret it if I don't have a laptop for university?

Link · May 26, 2005, 10:32 PM

Hardly, at least at our community college (taking stuff along with homeschool for now), I NEVER saw a person with a laptop until I got my powerbook, but some teachers actually encourage it, because guess what -- you can take notes a LOT faster. Sure, it's good to have a piece of paper and a pen handy for diagrams, but nothing beats the keyboard for note-taking ('cept in math or a class that's heavily graphic). IMHO you can get away with doing most science on a keyboard provided you're well versed with the subscript/superscript hotkeys

CKr · May 26, 2005, 10:58 PM

Unless you are actually staying in a dorm room (I'm assuming your not) then I wouldn't think a laptop would be something you would need. I hardly ever take my iBook to class. It's too much of a hassle to lug it around and have to basically babysit it all the time.

CharlesS · May 26, 2005, 11:01 PM

I lusted after a PowerBook for a long time, but ended up getting an iMac because it's just so much more powerful. I've still got an old Pismo for simple tasks like taking notes and such - it works great for these things, and if something unfortunate were to happen to it while cruising to school with it in the backpack, or even if it got scratched or scuffed, it wouldn't be nearly as bad as if the same thing were to happen to a brand new 15" PowerBook, so if you really need the power of a G5, that's my recommendation. Find a used Pismo or an old iBook on eBay for cheap, keep the iMac at home for the heavy lifting, and you've got the best of both worlds.

It is really nice to be able to take notes on a laptop, though.

Of course, with my luck, a G5 PowerBook will be out soon now that I've given up on it and bought an iMac.

SSharon · May 26, 2005, 11:12 PM

I take my ibook to class every day with no problems. I love being able to record all my classes on it. That being said for the first 2 years of school I only had my desktop and it was never a problem and I don't regret my decision to get a desktop in the first place. I have seen very few people in my classes with laptops so I don't think you need one. I would get the imac for sure.

Link · May 26, 2005, 11:30 PM

If you can, juuust if you can. Wait until WWDC, I couldn't so I got my PB 2 weeks ago, we're only about a week and a half away, and there MIGHT be a nice ibook or powerbook update that'd make a PB/IB purchase worth your time.

Having said that, I still really love carrying my PB with me

I have a (old, but still presentable and VERY padded) nice laptop case, which is hidden in my backpack at pretty much all times and I've had no worries, though I did notice 2 scratches on my laptop O_O I do NOT think those were left by me, seems common of apple (our shiny new powermac g5 has 2 scratches on its side door I still need to call and bitch about)... the whole thing actually seems quite durable though

TheJoshu · May 27, 2005, 12:37 AM

I'm very happy with my PowerBook, and its portability is very useful in a lot of different circumstances, but at school it never leaves my dorm room desk. Except when I am writing a paper while lying in my bed.

tooki · May 27, 2005, 12:53 AM

I'd probably go for the iMac.

As for the 12" PowerBook: it's just as underpowered as the the iBooks. (Frankly, IMHO, all the PowerBooks are just as underpowered as the iBooks.)

Of course, for many people, the iBooks are more than enough.

tooki

Goldfinger · May 27, 2005, 02:28 AM

Well at my university you only look like a total geek if you bring your laptop into class. Everybody thinks it's weird, and it is because it's completely useless. Pen and paper are the perfect tools.

Get the iMac, waaaay faster and you get a big display.

OwlBoy · May 27, 2005, 02:44 AM

I found having a laptop usefull in art classes (Graphic Design). But would never take it to English, math, etc.

-Owl

Randman · May 27, 2005, 02:46 AM

What classes will you be taking? Will you be doing much homework/study at school or at home?
If at home, you could go the iMac route. If you have an iPod, you could get something like an iMic and record the class lecture (gee, wish those were around a decade+ ago).
If there's a chance you'll be working on campus, consider an iBook. Or if funds can be scraped together, consider an iBook 12 for portable usage and to complement the iMac.

CharlesS · May 27, 2005, 02:48 AM

Originally Posted by Goldfinger

Well at my university you only look like a total geek if you bring your laptop into class. Everybody thinks it's weird, and it is because it's completely useless. Pen and paper are the perfect tools.

I had a prof once who would go through the lecture so quickly that the only way I would even have an ounce of a chance to take notes fast enough would be to use a laptop. Using pen and paper I usually got about half the notes down, and I'd have to bum the other half off of someone else. With a laptop, I was able to keep up (and feel sorry for all the people in the class who were struggling to keep up with pen and paper).

Typing is much faster than handwriting.

And then, at the end of the semester when you're studying for that big cumulative final test, you can grep through all your class notes and find whatever piece of info you're looking for. This is worth its weight in gold. Nowadays with Spotlight it'd be even nicer than it was when I did this with grep...

Albert Pujols · May 27, 2005, 02:56 AM

Some colleges require you to have a laptop. I visited RPI, everyone was carrying their laptop with them. Of course they were also all nerds.

Goldfinger · May 27, 2005, 04:11 AM

Originally Posted by CharlesS

I had a prof once who would go through the lecture so quickly that the only way I would even have an ounce of a chance to take notes fast enough would be to use a laptop. Using pen and paper I usually got about half the notes down, and I'd have to bum the other half off of someone else. With a laptop, I was able to keep up (and feel sorry for all the people in the class who were struggling to keep up with pen and paper).

Typing is much faster than handwriting.

And then, at the end of the semester when you're studying for that big cumulative final test, you can grep through all your class notes and find whatever piece of info you're looking for. This is worth its weight in gold. Nowadays with Spotlight it'd be even nicer than it was when I did this with grep...

Sure in general typing is faster than handwriting but I just wanted to say that pen and paper are the perfect tools in general. I never had a problem to keep up and if you missed something, just ask your neighbour in class

Or just copy notes..

I agree about the ability to search through everything. It is indeed very handy. I always write down my notes with pen and paper (first phase of memorisation) afterwards I type everything on the computer (second time of subconscious memorysation).

I must add that I retype everything on the computer mostly for readability. I never study with the computer on since that's impossible for me, too much distraction and reading from a monitor is annoying.

So, in general, the iMac would be a much better choice.

mitchell_pgh · May 27, 2005, 10:14 AM

Required: No
A good idea: Yes

It all depends. If you are going to be driving to school every day and taking classes that aren't back to back. Do yourself a favor and get a portable. Even if it's an iBook.

mitchell_pgh · May 27, 2005, 10:34 AM

Originally Posted by Goldfinger

Well at my university you only look like a total geek if you bring your laptop into class. Everybody thinks it's weird, and it is because it's completely useless. Pen and paper are the perfect tools.

Get the iMac, waaaay faster and you get a big display.

Pen/Paper is LAME because unless you rekey everything, you probably will never use the information again (are you honestly going to keep every notebook you have from school in an easy to access location FOREVER).

Having a laptop replaces SO much more than just looseleaft notebook. It's a calendar, scheduling tool, email, web, entertainment between classes, etc. etc. etc.

I can't name the number of times I've said "Ugh, I know I wrote that down" where a quick search would have found the information in seconds. Also, you can ensure that the prof. is on par.

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/product...ll_word_01.gif

I've seen people scanning in their textbooks so they didn't have to take them with them. I'm sure you could take that a step further and run OCR on that and add notes to the actual testbook.

The further you live away from campus, the more I feel a laptop would work.

ALSO, if you don't feel well, etc, turn on audio recording and take a nap. Upload the test review to your iPod prior to the big day, bla bla bla.

I see a laptop as a centralized location to store everything.

mitchell_pgh · May 27, 2005, 10:41 AM

Originally Posted by Goldfinger

I agree about the ability to search through everything. It is indeed very handy. I always write down my notes with pen and paper (first phase of memorisation) afterwards I type everything on the computer (second time of subconscious memorysation).

I must add that I retype everything on the computer mostly for readability. I never study with the computer on since that's impossible for me, too much distraction and reading from a monitor is annoying.

I guess I would rather get all of the notes the first time around. Also, I generally had an in when I spoke with girls "If you would ever like me to email my notes to you, here is my phone number"

RAILhead · May 27, 2005, 10:50 AM

historylme · May 27, 2005, 11:14 AM

Why not go for the desk top and buy yourself a palm or visor with a keyboard. I have a PB rev. C that love dearly, but sometimes, I simply take the Visor and the keyboard in my pockets and used that to type things in.

case in point

The Godfather · May 27, 2005, 01:44 PM

Spliff. Congratulations on returning to school. What major are you taking? If engineering, you need a PC, regardless of whether or not you get a Mac.

DeathToWindows · May 27, 2005, 01:46 PM

I have both a G5 tower and a powerbook and I have yet to take my PB to class.

Goldfinger · May 27, 2005, 02:58 PM

Originally Posted by mitchell_pgh

I guess I would rather get all of the notes the first time around. Also, I generally had an in when I spoke with girls "If you would ever like me to email my notes to you, here is my phone number"

Yeah well, I can say: here's my phone number. why don't you come over and "copy my notes". Written with a large pen

Spliff · May 27, 2005, 10:49 PM

Hey everyone,

Thanks for the advice and suggestions. I'll probably go for the iMac G5 since you get way more bang for you buck. However, I might wait until WWDC2005 to see if any cool hardware is released.

Superchicken · May 28, 2005, 12:00 AM

I would get an iBook for taking notes in class... I would never take a class now without my laptop... it's essential to me.

willed · May 28, 2005, 02:37 AM

Originally Posted by CharlesS

I had a prof once who would go through the lecture so quickly that the only way I would even have an ounce of a chance to take notes fast enough would be to use a laptop. Using pen and paper I usually got about half the notes down, and I'd have to bum the other half off of someone else. With a laptop, I was able to keep up (and feel sorry for all the people in the class who were struggling to keep up with pen and paper).

Typing is much faster than handwriting.

And then, at the end of the semester when you're studying for that big cumulative final test, you can grep through all your class notes and find whatever piece of info you're looking for. This is worth its weight in gold. Nowadays with Spotlight it'd be even nicer than it was when I did this with grep...

Exactly. I'm revising for my Finals at the moment. Another student asked me if I'd got notes from a certain lecture, and was amazed that I'd got the whole thing down and it was all under neat headers that could be viewed in the (MS Word) document map. I don't know how I'd manage if I had to take notes by hand - I'd miss half of what they said and then never be able to find it again!