<p>I’m debating whether to get a nice laptop, desktop, or both for Brown.</p>
<p>Right now I want a small ultra portable laptop to carry around to class, libraries, etc, but I want a more powerful desktop for more intensive applications. Are the dorms large enough to accomodate a desktop [or mac mini], 19" LCD Monitor, and laptop? Are the desks large enough? Will I still have enough room to work?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>i'm not a brown student, but from a college student's perspective, you really dont need to buy both. i'd say get a good laptop. you can get "powerful" laptops that are portable enough. when i first got my laptop, i still had my older desktop, and i tried to use both of them. it's really not that beneficial though, because you end up with some music and documents on one computer and not the other. </p>
<p>if you've got the money, i'd suggest just getting a top-of-the-line laptop. good luck with whatever you choose though!</p>
<p>It's just that most ultra portables aren't that powerful. They're good for text, web browsing, etc. but not for photoshop or something. The powerful laptops are a pain to lug around.</p>
<p>I'd suggest Apple's Macbook Pro. I have it and its awesome. AND now it can boot up as either mac or windows.</p>
<p>You don't need an ultra-portable. Just get a normal laptop. The campus is pretty small, so there's no reason you can't take it to class without getting exhausted from carrying it. There's really no reason to have a laptop AND a desktop (more inconvenient and expensive than it's worth), and a laptop is definitely preferable to a desktop. With a laptop, you can work on your bed, bring your computer to the library to study with a friend or write your paper, email your parents from the main green, or whatever.</p>
<p>Well I have both, and I don't regret it one bit. In fact, I have a full sized desktop and two monitors on my desk. But you need to make sure that you regularly do enough computing to warrant the desktop. I know I certainly do and so it made sense for me. Of couse, I built my own which saves money (I bought/built the desktop, parents got me the laptop for graduation). Remember, if you're in the sciences, note-taking isnt something that you're going to use your laptop for, so have a clear use for it outside of that if you're getting one and plan to study science.</p>
<p>I plan to buy a cheap used laptop for note taking and writing and maybe web browsing, and a reasonably nice desktop for heavier applications. In my experience, laptops can be pretty unreliable, and I'd like to have something more stable to back things up on.</p>
<p>I'd recommend getting a Dell laptop and then buying their 3-year warranty. If anything goes wrong with the computer, they come and fix it right away (often the very next day). Larry, the Dell guy who serves the Brown campus, is pretty entertaining and really knows his stuff.</p>
<p>I'd reccomend not getting a Dell. 3-year warranties are nice, if you're not using them every 6 seconds. I have had to seriously service my friends' Dell laptops on more occasions than I can name, and it has convinced me that they are, in fact, grade A pieces of crap. The things feel like they're made of cheap plastic, their hard drives fail, they have compatibility issues... the list goes on and on.</p>
<p>Get an IBM (lenovo) thinkpad. If you know anyone who's parents work for IBM, you can get a 15% discount on a machine that is a whole lot more sturdy than a Dell.</p>
<p>Im getting the new Sony SZ series laptops that have a 13.3 inch screen but has a great video card and can be configured to have the top of the line duo processor.</p>
<p>I am all about the IBM (Lenovo) and agree that the Dells are absolutely crap. They break more often than anything I've seen around here. I was able to get a 3 year accidental on the IBM for less than Dell's (which they dont offer to me because of hte state I live in). Plus, it's built a lot better, etc.</p>
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Im getting the new Sony SZ series laptops that have a 13.3 inch screen but has a great video card and can be configured to have the top of the line duo processor.
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<p>I was planning on doing that. Getting the smaller SZ for portability and then getting a nice desktop for backup / more powerful purposes, but it seems like now, I'm just gonna get a nice, larger laptop.</p>
<p>IBM (Lenovo) and Apple laptops seem to be the sturdiest and most ergonomic, but also most expensive.</p>
<p>I will never get used to an apple and most my apps just won't run, so that's not an option. I love the aesthetics of the sony line and that's probably what I'll end up getting.</p>
<p>Niisan, just for interest, what apps are you talking about. Because, just about anything that you need will run on OSX especially if you feel your computing needs don't warrant a laptop (an IBM laptop and self-built PC user, for the sake of full disclosure).</p>
<p>niisan...the sz series is customizable so that you can make it really powerful. thats why i like the thing so much. go to sonystyle and you can customize it.</p>
<p>
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Niisan, just for interest, what apps are you talking about. Because, just about anything that you need will run on OSX especially if you feel your computing needs don't warrant a laptop (an IBM laptop and self-built PC user, for the sake of full disclosure).
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<p>Well for one, games. :)</p>
<p>That's not really an issue with the Intel macs, and additionally, any laptop that you get for gaming is going to be too large/heavy to be practical for use in class, etc and so a desktop is a much better choice in that case since the laptop will never move and also be far more likely to overheat than a more portable laptop.</p>
<p>Hm, that's true. My main concern is not games though. My main concern is the lack of alternative applications on the apple. For example, what would be a good, free photo editing application like Photoshop for the mac? The PC has numerous free and cheap applications. I can't afford the full price for Photoshop. Is Photoshop Elements Apple compatible? Also, what about the Office Suite? Does Apple have their own that is fully compatible with Office and just as good?</p>
<p>Finally, I don't play games too much. But I do love to play the occasional popcap game like Feeding Frenzy, Heavy Weapon, Bejeweled, etc. And I must admit, I do love a strategic game of Age of Empires II and Rise of Nations. Nothing intensive but they're only for the PC...</p>
<p>EDIT
WOW! Never mind! I just found a nice list of awesome alternative software. And not to mention, upon first glance, each app seems much nicer than their PC counterpart. There's a whole bunch of software for the mac. I've found 5 or 6 chat applications, 10 IRC apps, and roughly 8 Browsers. This is actually pushing me over to the apple side. </p>
<p>Any idea how much the new 13.3" MacBooks will cost? More or less than the current crop? Now my main gripe is that stupid one button mouse. How does a normal logitech, microsoft two button mouse work on the apple? What would the right click do?</p>
<p>Man, Apple's are expensive! I can't muster $2,500 for a laptop.. Hopefully the new 13.3" macbooks are cheaper. But if they're like PCs, the smaller it becomes, the more expensive it is..</p>