<p>just asked my S how often he brings his laptop to school: everyday now. He uses it during free periods to do work (or perhaps not, who knows?) and he brings it to physics and math classes (twice a week). About half of the 70+ students in the Physics class bring a laptop to class, he says. They download materials which the prof projects on the screen nd take notes.</p>
<p>My son is still in high school and brings his laptop to school everyday and uses it for taking notes. It has come in handy because after several days he can easily search for a past section of notes and retrieve information quickly. He keeps it in a separate carrying case. It doesn't weigh much and is small. It's a 12" powerbook. Eight of his friends have switched to the Mac after seeing his in action, in class and in the library. He tells me that he doesn't need a new laptop for college, that this one has several more good years on it. I bought it for a conference workshop where I was a presenter over a year ago. After the conference was over, the powerbook disappeared into his room.</p>
<p>Has anyone tried the drawpad notetaking?</p>
<p>they are pretty cool. I don't have one, but one night when i was studying at a friends apartment, his roommate was playing with one. he was working on his engineering homework.. he said they are very very useful for engineering students - as they have to draw stuff out and all sorts of things like that.. it seemed like it really helped him. they may be a good investment if your kids are going to be engineering students. he said he would reccomend that to any engineering student at our school. he said he uses it to draw down the models and whatnot that are shown to them in classes as well.</p>
<p>i personally haven't taken notes in any of my classes this semester (on paper or on my laptop).. so i definately don't need to take my laptop to class. I have taken it to class so i could use it in our den afterwords to work on writing a paper or work on a website with the wireless internet. but i don't use it in class - too much of a distraction.</p>
<p>My daughter's school offered a deal on Dell Latitutde D600 or Apple Powerbooks. The Dell's were available more quickly and being a charter member of the immediate gratification society she ordered that one. We did that in August. Now in December she is selling the Dell so she can get the Apple. She likes her Dell well enough but it's got more trouble with little glitches and doesn't interface well enough for her with her Ipod (I know - she's a princess) and now she wants the powerbook. We also ordered the Dell with 1024 RAM and she's figured out that while that's ideal if you're running lots of programs and high end graphics kind of stuff it's probably unnecessary. She's doing this all by herself - we bought the first laptop and it's up to her to figure out how to get the next one. She listed her Dell on her school's e-service website and found someone right away to buy it. Turns out they're buying it for more than the Apple costs so it's basically an even trade for her. </p>
<p>So I'd say go for a powerbook. Most kids who have them LOVE them - much more impervious to viruses with far fewer glitches.</p>
<p>Having posted enthusiastically a few days ago about my son's hardy laptop. I was distressed to get an "Oh No!" phone call reporting that the laptop had leapt off son's bed in an apparent suicide attempt and most likely needs a new harddrive. The school's tech assistance is helpful but it's the holidays for them too so who knows when this problem will get sorted out. This coinciding with a 10 page final exam paper. Son is fairly sanguine about writing the paper using one of the PCs at the library. He says he spends too much time surfing anyway. He also is adamant that he loves his laptop and would never deviate. I, however, am now having second thoughts about the desireability of the desktop.</p>
<p>About using laptops to take notes during classes: this morning I questioned my daughter about that when she called unexpectedly. She said that some kids do it, not a majority by any means, but a substantial minority. She finds it "annoying" because, esp. in a dim lecture room, the bright screens are right in your field of vision, and you can hear the keys tapping.</p>
<p>Sigh...I think that I must change professions so that I can get a Powerbook. </p>
<p>Alternatively, I will go for a lightweight Dell and just never open or close it.</p>
<p>Question: Wharton does not fully support Macs, and recommends buying a PC. They have deals with Dell and IBM. Any opinions on which is better, or should I buy a separate one from Sony and forget the school's account?</p>
<p>Sony would be the worst choice of the three. Looks good, doesn't last.</p>
<p>Are you currently at Wharton? Then go with what they recommend. Personally I would go with IBM.</p>
<p>If you're not with Wharton now, then wait til later. You never know for sure what they might be recommending by the summer.</p>
<p>Also, you say they have "deals"with IBM and Dell, but that's probably a package of some kind, but does it include software and does it include service on campus?</p>
<p>No, I'm not there yet, but my parents want to buy it this spring. Hopefully I can talk them into waiting then. Thanks!</p>
<p>It's better to shop in early summer (but don't wait too long into the summer). You will have latest models available then.</p>
<p>college frosh...MY LAPTOP ROCKS!!! sooooooooo much better than a desktop, especially when you need to pull an all nighter and your roomies asleep, or you HAVE to write that paper but hes watching a movie, etc...
wireless is nice too...</p>
<p>What do you do in that situation Momrath? What do you do if your computer fails right before exams especially if you are using it for notetaking?</p>
<p>Don't want to get into the MAC vs. PC area (I use both), but my little PowerBook 12-inch is perfect for me, unless I'm doing some graphics works that needs more screen real-estate. DO NOT go for a laptop with a big screen! It only makes the laptop more cumbersome and more prone to damage. A good compromise is a small laptop (smaller screen = longer battery life also) and - for the desktop - a monitor, keyboard and mouse that can be attached to the laptop for times when you need the larger screen.</p>
<p>Bob (digi)</p>