Is there a need for a laptop?

<p>I'm debating whether or not even to get a laptop. I can bring my computer and monitors that I have now instead of getting a laptop.</p>

<p>My question is, how often do you use your laptop outside of your dorm for things other than doing your homework and watching movies and stuff like that. </p>

<p>When in the lecture halls, there was hardly enough room on those little desks for a laptop to take notes. Do you guys use a pen and paper? </p>

<p>And if you do use a laptop, do you prefer a larger yet heavier one, or a smaller but lighter one?</p>

<p>GET A LAPTOP!!
I personally would go crazy if I had to take regular handwritten notes in classes! The desks in classrooms may appear small but my trusty MacBook fits on all of them (or you can always use it on your lap)</p>

<p>I might add that some people don’t use laptops because they tend to go on facebook and other internet sites during class. Use your best judgement, see what works for you.</p>

<p>Get a laptop and turn off wifi if you have no self-control. </p>

<p>Probably 70% of people in class aren’t really taking good notes because they’re playing flash games. Just remember that TA’s sit in the back of the class sometimes and it doesn’t reflect well on you when grading time comes. And you’re probably not learning as much when you’re trying to match colors and pop bubbles, yeah?</p>

<p>There was a super sweet deal at Wal Mart where you could get a pretty decent laptop for $300. Even if you don’t NEED a laptop I’d get one anyways.</p>

<p>LOL @ miquemaus</p>

<p>What classes do you guys recommend using a laptop for? Like I can’t imagine it being super helpful for math, given that it takes longer to find all the smybols on the computer and math notes get all over the place for me so organizing it would be a pain, but what about other classes? Chem? Writing? etc…</p>

<p>And is there an outlet in the rooms so I can charge my laptop? It gets a surprisingly small amount of battery life…freaking false advertisement…</p>

<p>I brought it to everything but my math and music classes, but I’m a political science major. Your college writing class teacher probably won’t like you bringing a laptop in class since those classes are usually only 15 people (so its easier to get caught not working). As for symbols, you can store them at the top of the bar so you can just press them when you need them.</p>

<p>Most classes will have a couple of outlets. If the room is older and your lecture has several hundred people, expect that those seats will be taken up first. Key tip is to bring an extension cord/surge protector so more people can use the slots.</p>

<p>Neither of my daughters, who were both CS majors (one at UCSD, one at UCLA) brought their laptops to class. They found it easier to take notes on paper than a laptop, at least for the types of courses they were mostly in (CS, engineering, math, etc.). It was easier for them to draw diagrams, write equations, etc., on paper than on a laptop. They said most of the people they saw in class with laptops in class were just using them to send email, IM, play games, etc. A laptop can also get heavy carrying it around campus all day long every day. </p>

<p>They did, however, find it useful to sometimes take them to labs, use them to do HW, watch online shows, IM, and other things while sitting on their bed (rather than chained to their desk), used them in other locations on campus, brought them home on breaks with all the apps and data they used, etc. There are, however, some people without laptops who just use a desktop - especially some who are big into playing video games although some of them have both.</p>

<p>So while a laptop is useful because of its portability, it’s possible to use a desktop. If nothing else you could bring your desktop and see how it goes for the first quarter and replace or supplement it with a laptop later if you think you want to.</p>

<p>A netbook should handle things fine, and it’s a lot more affordable.</p>

<p>not needed for class (i prefer notes on paper) but it is useful when bringing it to a library, lanning for games, or just carrying it to another person’s room. you wont ever need it for class unless you’re a comp sci major i think.</p>

<p>dont get a netbook unless you’re really cash-strapped. considering that a macbook is a 1000-1200 and a netbook is 400, its really only 600-800 more which over the course of 4 years, is worth it.</p>

<p>@Mique (or anyone else who knows)</p>

<p>How do you store symbols at the top?</p>

<p>Would you recommend Microsoft office or Openoffice for a MacBook pro? (I have both, haven’t figured out which one is better yet)</p>

<p>Screw netbooks, get this. </p>

<p>[Compaq</a> Presario CQ60-419WM | Review 2.0 in Technology.](<a href=“http://www.review2.net/laptops/compaq-presario-cq60-419wm]Compaq”>http://www.review2.net/laptops/compaq-presario-cq60-419wm)</p>

<p>I personally would never bring a laptop to class. I hate taking notes on lap top and since im a math major it would be impossible lol. No one needs a laptop… like mentioned before people that have them in class are most likely not using them for taking notes. Save the money and get a pimp desktop instead. If something fails on your desktop you can replace it/ upgrade it. If something fails on your lap top… your usually out of luck. Not to mention you can have multiple massive hard drives on your desktop for all of you data, software, games.</p>