<p>Cool aibarr...I'm keen on using the laptop...I'll look out for that software omnigraffle...will u get it with the macbook? And like microsoft equation is there a software in mac to write equations and stuffs?</p>
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Cool aibarr...I'm keen on using the laptop...I'll look out for that software omnigraffle...will u get it with the macbook? And like microsoft equation is there a software in mac to write equations and stuffs?
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<p>Omnigraffle is a free download, unless you want to upgrade to pro, which I eventually did. Microsoft Equation comes with Microsoft Office for Mac.</p>
<p>jessiehl - what did you not like about HP ?
Ken285 - why do you love it?</p>
<p>Great quality. Everything HP that I have has lasted forever without a problem. My first printer lasted me 6 years; the only reason I replaced it was that I felt 3 pages per minute (which was actually the advertised rate) just wasn't cutting it anymore. My current desktop is 5 years old and runs great. My laptop I've had for almost a year now and haven't had any problems. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, my old roommates have had lots of problems with their Dells. Two of them had Dell laptops and both had problems, and both had to pay a lot for replacement parts (I think you can only use the ones you get from Dell directly?). Two of my roommates had Dell desktops, and one of them had their graphics card stop working for no apparent reason. A friend of mine has a Thinkpad and the touchpad stopped working, though this was after about 3 1/2 years. Too many problems.</p>
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jessiehl - what did you not like about HP ?
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<p>The laptop was a piece of junk. It was heavy and clunky. Several of the keys had stopped working within a few months. Part of the RAM randomly stopped functioning, reducing it from an already-pathetic 250 MB to 192 MB and making it horribly slow. The battery tanked randomly in the first few months, so that I couldn't go for more than half an hour with it unplugged before it would die.</p>
<p>I talked to some other people and they told me that HP laptops had a lot of hardware failures (I have no complaints about, say, their printers, I am only talking about laptops).</p>
<p>In fairness to the stupid thing, I used it for a little over four years (couldn't afford a new one until I graduated and got a job), and the CPU never died in all that time, while my friends with Macs seemed to have theirs die pretty often. This might have been a function of how we were <em>using</em> our computers, though, more than brand.</p>
<p>I've had the Thinkpad, which was highly recommended by all of my non-Mac-using friends, for six or seven months, with no problems so far. Which is not that long, but considerably longer than my HP made it.</p>
<p>STAY AWAY FROM HP!
At least thats my experience with them. As for the kind of laptop needed for an engineer... its pretty much the same as what any other student would need: light, tough, small, and cheap.
I have a Sony VAIO that I bought a year ago, with pretty much standard features: centrino duo, 1 gb of ram, 100 gegs of space, and intel chipset. Its more than enough power for ANY type of student, in my opinion. More ram would probably be helpful though.
I've never used it with Vista though, but it works perfectly with Ubuntu Linux, and I've kept an XP partition for when I need it.</p>
<p>wow does these people know about computers at all?
If you think a certain name brand computer is slow, that is your problem for installing the default programs that a certain program has.
If you buy a new laptop, do you use it from that time?
Well, I always format the whole thing,
install a custom based os that is lighter than the given one.
Dont install utilities that the brand gives, only install drivers.</p>
<p>Ever tried these methods before you can make discouraging comments about name brands?</p>
<p>If you think they are slow, its the specs not the maker.
If its heavy and clunky, it was your problem to buy it at the first time.</p>
<p>My laptop is Centrino 1.2/512MB/30GB 1.8"
well, its kinda slow,
however im running lighter xp version, and it weights 990 grams.
Nothing to complain about.</p>
<p>Have you checked out the new HP 2133?</p>
<p>One of my friends has a pretty nice HP laptop, and the wireless networking card just randomly stopped working last night. It doesn't show up anywhere under Device Manager, any of the wireless settings, and even with updating the BIOS, reinstalling all the proper drivers and doing pretty much everything we could think of, nothing worked.</p>
<p>He called HP and they told him to send it in for repairs with an unspecified time frame until he gets it back. Pretty sweet for him, since he doesn't have any other computer at home, and his laptop had been doubling as his office computer via a dock.</p>
<p>So maybe I've just been really lucky with my HP...</p>
<p>I think it comes down to luck for all laptops.</p>
<p>My Dell laptop's networking jack broke after a year and a half. My roommate's onboard video card died after around a year and a half. One of my friends IBM laptops had the monitor die, but the monitor out plug still worked, so he could only use it when it was attached to a normal monitor.</p>
<p>I'd recommend buying a 3 year warranty for any laptop you buy. Yeah, it's a lot of money (ontop of an already expensive for what you get computer), but something WILL die within the first three years you have it if you're a heavy user.</p>
<p>Or just go for a desktop unless you really need the mobility. I used a desktop all through my undergrad when I lived close to campus and didn't feel a need to get a laptop until grad school. Now I'm a 1 1/2 hour subway ride from campus and need to use the time on campus efficiently. </p>
<p>As far as I know, desktops are easier to fix or upgrade should the need arise. Everything is pretty modular.</p>
<p>If you are a heavy user,
you shouldn't buy a laptop.</p>
<p>I think if you dont have SIGNIFICANT reasons why you would need a laptop,
I dont see why you should get a laptop.
go desktops</p>
<p>I had a laptop as an undergraduate in computer science.</p>
<p>To make a long story short, if you like computers and using them, don't get a laptop. Laptops are for casual users who don't know any better.</p>
<p>It's sort of like the difference between drinking sweetened mud club soda or a coca cola.</p>
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To make a long story short, if you like computers and using them, don't get a laptop. Laptops are for casual users who don't know any better.
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<p>That'd kind of a rude statement. Laptops are, as one example, for people who take notes in class. I think I'd have looked mighty funny if I'd dragged in my desktop computer to class every day. They're also for people who are constantly on the road. I've had issues with fitting ginger ale and my MacBook on my tray table, I can't imagine what you must deal with when you take your desktop computer on a plane, let alone how the heck you get through airport security.</p>
<p>I'm not going to run ABAQUS on it or anything, but I do think there's a time and a place for laptops, and I think a blanket statement asserting ignorance on the part of anyone who thinks otherwise is kind of uncalled for.</p>
<p>plus for international students, laptops are the best option</p>
<p>"That'd kind of a rude statement. Laptops are, as one example, for people who take notes in class."
Call me old fashioned, but I generally take notes on paper.</p>
<p>"They're also for people who are constantly on the road."
I think it's illegal in most states to be driving and computing at the same time. Seriously, though, most places you go will have computers for you to use. Do you really need it while you're traveling, too? Most don't.</p>
<p>There is certainly a time and a place for laptops. I only meant to suggest that it may not be for undergraduate studies in the sciences or engineering.</p>
<p>Laptops are not a necessity, but rather a luxury. Nobody really absolutely needs a laptop; you can get around just fine with a desktop. </p>
<p>The reasons I like having a laptop now is that I'm not tied down to a computer lab if I need to use one, and it won't be a problem if all the computers are in use. I can be anywhere on or off campus and still get work done and that's a big deal for me because on some days I leave home at 6am and don't get back until 11pm. I use all the free time in between as much as I can. Again, not a necessity, but a convenience.</p>
<p>Screw all this damn advice. </p>
<p>Here it is clear and simple...</p>
<p>Are you a commuter who move around alot?</p>
<p>If so then go for a small, (13.3" or smaller) laptop. Power won't be of concern any thing on the market right now is the same. Do your research and you can find reviews and good deals. </p>
<p>Are you a live on residence kind of person?</p>
<p>Then go for a 15.4" or bigger. You can get alot of power for a price that can't be beat. Its essentially a desktop replacment. </p>
<p>Thats it, do research on laptops and reviews and such, but just look for a size range. You won't be needing a super computer or anything.</p>
<p>There are a lot of posts about using a laptop only if one isn't a heavy user??
But how would you define 'heavy'?
It's funny that there should be variation between students because now it seems like school work is not a deciding factor??</p>
<p>seems like school work is not a deciding factor</p>
<p>That pretty much sums it up at many schools. S1 is a frosh at Mudd this year. His only computer is a laptop that we bought when he was in 8th grade. Only use is for email, facebook, wordprocessing, video-conferencing with his GF, and the like. He uses school computers for everything/anything heavy.</p>
<p>Is negotiating to buy a 6 year old laptop from a graduating senior (for less than $100) so that he can watch DVDs. Otherwise, he is fine with the old laptop and the common computers.</p>
<p>S2 is going to Rice next year and, unless we hear good reasons otherwise from the engineering school, he'll likely go with the desktop he's used for quite some time--again, he'd probably use the common PCs.</p>
<p>It all depends on how much money you want to spend.</p>