Laptop + external monitor in college?

Student Lounge College Life
1

<p>Hi, I'm looking into getting a laptop for college(obviously). The thing is that I really hate laptops - I can't stand typing in them especially longer assignments like essays. I've been using an imac the past four years and love it. But laptops are a practical necessity for taking notes in classes and stuff...</p>

<p>I was thinking about keeping an external monitor and keyboard + mouse in my dorm that I hook up to the laptop when I'm in my room. Do people ever do this or is it just unnecessary with the space it takes up?
(or maybe I'll just adapt to the laptop)</p>

2

<p>Alot of people actually do that. I know someone who had 2 monitors hooked up to his Macbook Pro and it looked like a phenomenal setup</p>

3

<p>College students do it all the time, because like you said laptop screens and keyboards tend to cause strain on your eyes and fingers. A larger monitor and comfortable keyboard is a logical way to turn your laptop into a nice desktop setup. Just make sure to get any adaptors that you might need to use the external monitor and you should be all set.</p>

4

<p>Aren’t laptop keyboards typically full-size? At least 13" and beyond. Is there a point getting another keyboard?</p>

<p>Although I do have a tendency to hit the touchpad and cause the cursor to click on random places with a laptop keyboard… <em>sigh</em></p>

5

<p>Well if you have an external monitor, it’s hard to type on the laptop keyboard and look at something other than the laptop screen.</p>

6

<p>there are laptop docks where the laptop is closed but on. Only thing is that not all laptops have the docking feature.</p>

7

<p>I plan on doing that in college. I am getting a Macbook Pro for college but I like having a separate, bigger screen so two windows could be open on the same screen. It allows me to mulitask and get things done quicker. </p>

<p>The keyboard is fine for me though. To each his own.</p>

8

<p>Personally I’d just as soon use virtual desktop and flip between spaces as opposed to buying an external monitor and keyboard. It’s more economical and just as useful. The only downside is flipping between pages. It’s still far quicker than minimizing.</p>

9

<p>I did this my freshmen year. I actually used my 15in MBP for doing all my work and stuff, but used my extermal for watching movies, etc. Worked nice.</p>

10

<p>You should definitely do so. When my desktop was out of commission, I’d hook up my laptop to my 24" monitor for those long assignments. It definitely made a big difference. I’d also consider a mouse + keyboard as well, as I’m not a big fan of typing on the laptop keyboards or using trackpads for long periods of time.</p>

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<p>They’re definitely different, laptop and desktop keyboards. The keys on desktop keyboards are generally bigger, and most laptops don’t have the number pads. Additionally, I use a mechanical keyboard, which has much better tactile feedback than my laptop’s keyboard.</p>