<p>Will I need to take a laptop to class for engineering classes for note taking, or would I be best off just taking paper and pencils to class? I could get a cheap netbook without any financial hardship, so that's really not an issue, but is it useful to have one for college?</p>
<p>I use my laptop to take notes in certain classes–for example, some professors lecture/whip through powerpoints too fast for me to write it all down. I type faster than I write, so in classes with professors that talk fast, I take notes on my laptop. My college might be a bit different than others, since it’s a miniscule private school, but it’s pretty high-tech, so there are few professors that will complain about people taking notes on their laptops, since the majority of students here do.</p>
<p>And I’m pretty sure it’d be irritating to have to go to the computer lab every time you need to type a paper or do research or something. I use the computer lab’s printers to conserve ink and whatnot, but I use my computer a lot for research and essay-writing.</p>
<p>I bought an Acer Aspire One this semester and use it to take notes. I use OneNote and it’s great. Like the poster above me, I type a lot faster than I write. Using my laptop gives me time to think about the lecture and put things in my own words. When I try to write stuff by hand I usually just end up transcribing stuff directly, which is pretty useless.</p>
<p>How is using a netbook? Is it hard adjusting to the small keyboard?</p>
<p>I haven’t had any problems with the keyboard. It’s small, but not too small. I think it is 80% of standard. It took me a couple of days to adjust to it, but now I rarely make mistakes, and I have pretty long fingers. I also hunt and peck (at 70 wpm). I think someone who touch types would have even less trouble.</p>
<p>rarely are computers a useful medium for taking notes in engg classes, unless you’re good at drawing diagrams / making useful notes on equations and such on a screen. and if you are, more power to you.</p>
<p>I know people who are taking notes on a laptop in math classes. LaTeX makes it straight forward to type equations, but I wouldn’t want to draw diagrams with it.</p>