<p>Doea anyone have a Toshiba Satellite - any model? I'm considering one of those because the price range is okay and Dell i'm getting a bad vibe from. If you do have one, what kind is it and how well does it work?</p>
<p>Yes, I have one. It's awesome, more like a portable desktop than a laptop though. Mine is a P25 Series, with the 17 inch screen. It worked well for me as I don't carry it around much, but it saves a lot of space and cords, and is easy to move. I second the no to Dell laptops. I've had to problems with my Toshiba at all. Which model were you looking at?</p>
<p>I wanted an M40 but they don't allow me to have Windows XP Pro, just XP Home. So I guess I'm most seriously considering M30x. Are those vastly different from what you have? I know your kind is more expensive but other than that i don't know. I need a Pentium processor and XP pro... that's about all, i can hopefully upgrade the hard drive etc. thank you for helping!</p>
<p>I have a Toshiba laptop. It's great. I third the no Dell.</p>
<p>what kind do you have?</p>
<p>I've had mine for a year or so. I'm not sure what the model # is off the top of my head. It's a 2.4 GHZ Intel, 40 gig hard drive, wireless G, 512 mb ram, 15 inch screen.</p>
<p>If you're worried about xp pro vs. home, see if your school offers a cheap upgrade. I think that through CMU I can buy xp pro for $15 or something, which would be cheaper than buying a computer from, say, dell, and paying for the $150 upgrade to pro. Of course, I'm magical and have a legal free copy of pro... hehe!</p>
<p>yeah, i could get the full version of xp pro at my school for 8 dollars.. although we didn't need to have it.</p>
<p>I'm thinking of getting one of them tablets from Toshiba...</p>
<p>Great to see that some students are still thinking about Tablet PCs. Toshiba makes some of the best laptop and Tablet PCs around. Toshibas latest Tablets include the Tecra M4 and the R10/15 Satellite models (all 14). Last years M205 S810 (12 screen) is still available from ToshibaDirect.Com and can be found on the Web as refurbished from $1100 and up (make sure that the external dvd/cd-rw drive is included). </p>
<p>The following websites have lots of information on Tablets:
<a href="http://studenttabletpc.blogs.com/%5B/url%5D">http://studenttabletpc.blogs.com/</a>
<a href="http://www.tabletpcbuzz.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.tabletpcbuzz.com/</a>
<a href="http://www.gobinder.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.gobinder.com/</a>
<a href="http://www.xthink.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.xthink.com/</a>
<a href="http://www.recallplus.com/index.asp%5B/url%5D">http://www.recallplus.com/index.asp</a>
<a href="http://www.heulab.com/index.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.heulab.com/index.htm</a></p>
<p>The first two sites have great general and student-related information on Tablets. The last four sites have information on educational software that excels on Tablet PCs. </p>
<p>Gobinder is one of the top note-taking software programs available. You can create separate electronic notebooks for each of your courses. Take hand written notes, convert them to text (if you want) and link notes, class schedule and syllabus, due dates and paper research, all in one place.</p>
<p>Xthink is a math program designed for Tablets. Write down math problems on the screen of your Tablet and click on the solution button. Instant answer </p>
<p>The last two programs are new to Tablets. Recallplus looks like a note-taking and review program. Developed in Australia, the program helps you to organize your notes and creates a review plan for tests. You can add short MP3 audio commentary to your notes and even add animation to help you remember stuff </p>
<p>Heulab (Singapore based) has an upcoming program called: Fun with Mindbook that will work with Tablets. It looks like another note-taking program that includes a rich media library on general school topics (sounds more for high school students, but I could be wrong).</p>
<p>I have one. Its awesome.</p>
<p>Cassiodorus: Which Tablet PC do you have? Has it been valuable in your school work? What kind of things do you use your Tablet for?</p>
<p>I bought a Toshiba satellite tablet PC (R15 series) a few weeks ago for college. So far it's been great, although I don't know how useful the tablet aspect of it will be for college.</p>
<p>The biggest benefit will be class note-taking. If you review laptop threads on CC over the past year or so, few laptop owners typed their notes while in class. </p>
<p>Try this experiment: in a quiet room, start typing away on your keyboard. How much noise are you making? Imagine a quiet class room with a couple of people pounding away on their laptops. Not too cool, right? Many posts mention the fact that students try to take notes in class by typing. They all say that they can type faster than they can write. After awhile, most give up. Why? It's not the typing, it's the noise you make typing that other students and the instructor find annoying... </p>
<p>You, the lucky owner of a R15, can "write" down your notes on the screen. Just like writing on paper, only better. And, if you take science and math classes, you can "write" down your equations or chemical formulas.</p>
<p>I'm not sure if the R15 has the three microphone array setup that my nephew's Toshiba's M205 has. Microsoft's OneNote program has an audio record feature. At the beginning of a lecture, start up OneNote and begin the audio record function. Start writing and "paste" an audio icon next to a keyword or note that you are writing. Back at your dorm room, review your lecture notes and click on the audio icon and listen to your instructor's words at that point in the lecture or listen to the entire lecture. Works best in large lecture halls where the instructor is using a PA system. According to my nephew, it worked well in his intro Chem class. You can "write" down a chemical formula and record what your instructor has to say about it. </p>
<p>If things get boring, you can always doodle in Tablet mode. Select a color from the tool bar and draw away. On the Toshiba stylus, you can flip it around like a pencil and "erase" what you wrote or drew. You may not have saved a tree, but maybe a small branch.</p>
<p>If you haven't already, check out GoBinder. They have a free 30 day trial of their software. Great for note-taking and organizing your class work. The company is getting ready to release their 2006 version.</p>
<p>Have fun!</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure the R15 has the audio feature. At it's highest potential, you can write all your notes in color, complement it with audio, and have it all in a folder on your regular laptop. Use it wisely, my friend.</p>