<p>Tablets are very nice...but pricey...although i do believe they are worth it for their portability....i havne't had the opportunity to work with one yet, but I'm hoping to purchase one within the next 2 years</p>
<p>For students who might be interested in Tablet PCs. the above link is a demo for the new Toshiba R15 Tablet. A nice presentation to show you what you can do with a Tablet...</p>
<p>dell laptops are not "highly upgradable"</p>
<p>no laptops are. You can do basic swaps (ram, hd, optical drive) but while they are possible, graphics swaps are a PITA and cost a lot of money (for osmething that is already outdated)</p>
<p>highly upgradebe meaning one of the most upgraeble among all laptops. well if u have the computer know how u can upgrade the processor and video card too. and i upgrade my video card from 64 mb to 128 mb. sold old card for 50 bucks got new card for 90 bucks. opened my laptop myself and replaced the cards. so the only thing it cost me was 40 bucks. if u r taking a laptop in a dorm then ull also find ppl aroud who can do this stuff and save u the money. oh and when i opened my laptop, it was my first time, i had never opened a laptop before and believe me the process of swapping the video cards was no tougher than simply opening a desktop computer and replacing the ram. these things are easy and juss require a lil effort to learn but they will prove valuable in the long run.</p>
<p>All this tablet PC stuff is going waaay over my head. It sounds perfect for what I need: would love searchable notes, graphic designs and sketches all the time, need colored notes, can mark up .pdf textbooks, etc. </p>
<p>Thing is, I don't even know how to start shopping for one. I know I want one that is at most 4lbs, with lots of RAM (1gig-ish), pressure senstivie screen... and after reading a few articles, I can't decide whether to get a convertible one or just a slate with an attachable silent keyboard. </p>
<p>:\ Help.</p>
<p>If you want to not have to worry about your laptop AT ALL for your four years in college, get a mac. PC spyware/adware do not work for macs, and there is yet to be a successful virus created for OS X.Current macs also come with iLife, which is a package of iMovie, iPhoto, and GarageBand, which is very nice. If you don't have a whole bunch of software that would go unused if you bought a mac, I would wholeheartedly recommend checking one out.</p>
<p>Gaming isn't a problem for mac users as much as it used to be- Doom3, World of Warcraft, and UT 2004 are among the games that sport Mac versions.</p>
<p>In terms of raw processing power, the 1.67 ghz G4 currently found in high-end powerbooks is roughly equivalent to a 2.5 ghz Pentium 4. Though this seems a little low, keep in mind that programs on the mac run almost natively on OSX (as if they arent programs running on top of an OS as much as the OS simply operating one of its own native components), meaning that a 1.67ghz G4 will run Photoshop quite a bit faster than on a 2.5ghz P4.<br>
The powerbook should be updated sometime between now and the start of fall semester 2005 (Their last update was January 31 and they refresh every 6-7 months or so), and I've heard that the updates will have speeds up to dual 1.8 ghz. I would wait until then, especially considering the pending release of OSX Tiger.</p>
<p>You should also consider the iMac G5. It absolutely screams (the soon to be released 2.0 ghz G5 model is on par with the Athlon 64 processors) and has a much smaller footprint than you think. If you dont plan on taking your notebook around very often i would give the iMac a look too.</p>
<p>I like the Dell Inspiron 8600</p>
<p>The battery life is excellent, and it has a nice 15" screen.</p>
<p>Aroundthecorner: Things to consider between a convertible or slate Tablet PC
Weight: most convertibles weight between 4 ½ lbs (Toshiba M205 S810) to 6 lbs. (Gateway M275).
Slates weigh in around 3 lbs. (HP TC1100)/Electrovaya (3 ½ lbs). Add a pound for their detachable keyboards.
Costs: both convertibles and slates cost more than regular laptops though prices are starting to drop with the introduction of the new Toshiba R series machines.</p>
<p>Ways to use your Tablet:
* Class room: note taking using your stylus
no keyboard necessary. A slate is fine.
* Outside: Do you plan to sit outside to do some writing? Start an essay for a class? A convertible is a better choice. If you dont plan on sitting under a tree, a slate is fine and weighs a little less.
* Coffee shop/WiFi spots: getting e-mail or web surfing. Either a convertible or slate will work. You can write out an e-mail message on either with your stylus, but your recipient would need an e-mail plug-in in order to read your message. A convertible may be a better choice.
* Library: Personal preference as to whether you like to type out research notes or write them down in Tablet mode.
* Dorm room: A wash
either will work.</p>
<p>Frankly, I prefer a convertible because it gives me the keyboard whenever I might need it. The weight savings isnt that big an issue. Slates work well in many professional situations like medicine and sales where there are a lot of forms to fill out.</p>
<p>If you have other questions, you can PM me (I turned that feature on)</p>
<p>michuncle,</p>
<p>When I was shopping for a laptop last summer, I was intrigued by the idea of getting a Tablet PC but ultimately opted for a laptop deal through my school because of the substantial discount. Still, I remember your posts touting the benefits of Tablets, and your arguments were/still are quite convincing.</p>
<p>I have to ask, though: are you just intrinsically motivated to spread the gospel of tablets as a godsend for college students? It seems that all you ever post about are the merits of tablets over laptops...I'm just curious, are you involved with the Tablet PC industry in any way or what?</p>
<p>Tablet PCs are the new thing. whic makes them a lil expensive. if u want to save money u can buy alaptop and then buy a light pen as an accessory. it will enable u to write and take notes as well</p>
<p>the only thing abt macs is tht no viru no spyware. but tht is because
mac doesnt have an as large userbase as windows so virus makers dun concenterate on macs.
and viruses and spyware are a problem for novice users. duh if u dun open anything u r not sure abt or disable ur IE active x controls then u shudnt ever have a problem.
i almost laugh my head off when i see AOL justifying thier high price by saying tht they stop spyware.
now ppl may see me as anti mac person but the simple thiung is i cant live without games and also windows versions of softwares are much easy to find on P2P then the mac versions.
besides u know wht. the place where i come from maya sells for $1. infact its only the price of a CD. if a siftware is on one CD u pay 30 cents. if its on 2 u pay $1.30 and so on. so i can never ever bear to spend more than $5 on any software even if i am in USA</p>
<p>Mike D:</p>
<p>No, Im not a part of the Tablet PC business. In fact, I dont even own one. Its my nephew who started college last fall that has one (Toshiba M205 S810). Ive worked in IT over the years and during college back in the 70s worked with a friend of a friend who had an IBM clone business. This means that Ive been around since the days of DOS! My first laptop was a Compaq portable that weighted 30 lbs and was the size of a large sports duffle bag. No batteries, just a 120v plug. You could move it around the office or ship it somewhere to do demos at trade shows. So why do I like Tablets?</p>
<p>My nephews father (my brother) died when he was a week shy of five. Ever since, Ive tried to look out for him. When he reached Middle school, the family got him his first desktop. By the start of his senior year, I started thinking about his computer needs for college. I found a used Toshiba laptop that had a 10 ½ screen and weighed less than 3 lbs. and gave it to him to see how well he liked it. My thinking at the time was to build a desktop gaming system for his dorm room and for him to use the Toshiba in class and at the library. Then I discovered CC (via an article in the New York Times). I started reading what are now the old threads on computers and laptops on CC. Those threads were a real eye-opener! I discovered that students werent taking notes in class with their expensive laptops. Coming from a generation that took notes on legal pads (Im a lefty so I dont use spiral bound notebooks), I was stunned. Reading through those old threads brought up issues of battery life, weight and the sound of people typing in smaller class rooms where the noise was distracting. These were issues that I never thought about. Then there were science and math classes where a regular laptop would be useless anyway. I started re-thinking about how valuable a laptop would be. A laptop would be helpful at the library while doing research, but so would a pile of 3x5 index cards. My nephew doesnt drink coffee so sitting at Starbucks using their WiFi setup wasnt an issue. He goes to school here in Michigan where we have Winter and Not Winter so sitting outside isnt a huge draw like it would be in Florida or California. </p>
<p>What really bugged me was the fact that students were still taking notes with pencil and paper. If you stop and think about it, nothing has really changed that much in some two hundred years. Instead of gas light, we have electricity and fluorescent light fixtures in the class room. Instead of typewriters (manual and electric), we have computers with word processing software. We have gone to the Moon. We have the Internet. Yet, in the class room, students may as well be using goose quills and parchment. Where is the progress? </p>
<p>What about Tablet PCs? I remember reading about them when they were introduced in 2002. Tablets were a neat, but really expensive technology with limited appeal to maybe the medical and sales professions. So I started doing some research and found a new software program called Gobinder. Designed for students, Gobinder is an electronic version of your paper notebook, only much better. The program allows you to create separate folders for each of your classes and allows you to take notes (either typed or written in your own handwriting). You can enter in your class schedule with test and paper due dates. Class syllabus areas, a contact file which is an electronic rolodex for info about your professor and classmates are just scratching the surface of what this program does. I downloaded a trial version to my own Toshiba laptop (not a Tablet) and started to play around with it. Well, the heavens opened and I became a believer. While Gobinder works with a regular laptop, it really shines when you have a Tablet. And no, I dont work for them either </p>
<p>For students, a Tablet just makes a great deal of sense. You spend most of your day in the class room taking notes. Maybe you go to the library Maybe you go to Starbucks Maybe you sit under a tree Or maybe you go to the Student Union or back to your dorm room to study and hang out with your friends. If youre part of the last group, it means that youve lugged around 4 or more lbs of laptop without ever opening it up except to check your e-mail or surf the web. Not a great ROI (Return on Investment).</p>
<p>Tablet drawbacks: Theyre not game machines. If youre a gamer, look elsewhere.</p>
<p>Toshiba has recently come out with their Tecra M4, which is essentially a "gaming" tablet pc. Pricing so far is a bit pricey, but it clearly is bluring the line between the laptop and the tablet.</p>
<p>True: The M4 has the Nvida 64M video. My nephew's M205 has 32M of video which does allow some gaming at reduced settings. Still, school over Half life 2. Or not....</p>
<p>At around $2000, it's at the higher end of the market which makes it a big reach for lots of students.</p>
<p>How about an Acer laptop? Specifically the TravelMate models. Have any of you guys owned one before? Where are they manufactured and are they reliable?</p>
<p>How about an ibm instead ;)</p>
<p>... I'm waiting anxiously for the new IBM tablet to be released. I just hope it's sometime before August or I'll have to settle on the Toshiba. IBM is the brand supported by my college so it's alot easier for service and loaners, etc and I get the college discount.</p>
<p>The IBM tablet it supposed to be announced next week.</p>
<p>get 3 years warranty with dells. my laptops motherboard malfunctioned for the second time yesterday.bought laptopi n october. motherboard malfunctioned in january. got motherboard replaced for free in 4 days under warranty. now yesterday the mothorboard again malfunctioned and my laptop wont even boot the bios. technical person said it happened cuz the laptop was under stress. damn!!! i dint overclock it or anything.!!! anyways u get wht u pay for. dell may be cheap and will work well but they will malfunction too.</p>
<p>Four days for tech support to come!!??!? Thats rediculous. With IBM they are known to come next day or at the latest in two days. Wow. yay for dell.</p>