A college student comparing the 13" MBP and 15" MBP!

[commanderkeen]

Those are your own personal opinions and experiences. Doesn't mean everyone else in the world agrees with you or has to agree with you.

Thanks for the clarification. I was confused for a moment and thought that he was trying to pass off his opinions as facts.

 

[gumbyx84]

Thanks for the clarification. I was confused for a moment and thought that he was trying to pass off his opinions as facts.

Ya sorry. I kinda came off stupid in that post huh? Like I said, I just get angry when people use their personal experiences as facts.

Also, not happy with the way he's bashing everyone who doesn't agree with him. Also a pet-peeve of mine.

 

[designed]

I wanted to add to my previous post that a bit ironically, the place where I don't use a laptop are the Creative Writing courses, because jotting down notes and suggestions on the assignments is much simpler and a laptop would break the coherent mood

 

[feelthefire]

No but as others have stated, taking notes on a laptop is by far superior to writing them on pen and paper. I don't know when you last took a college class but I think you're in the minority. I'm no spring chicken myself - I come from the time when there were no calculators available and as a student I had to do math the old fashioned way - on paper

Anyways the college classes I have taken over the years and recently I see the advantage of typing over writing. Especially given that many professors do not slow down their presentation to allow students to catch up. Kids and young adults are much more adept at typing then writing and while that's an argument for another thread they are better prepared to learn by using a laptop.

There's no harm in providing kids all of the tools to enable them to increase their education.

I graduated college very recently and unless you were in a freshman level gen ed class there were NEVER any laptops to be seen. You printed the slides and annotated them by hand. Why? Because you can't draw flowcharts, structures, sequential pathways with a keyboard. I used a laptop in I think statistics 101 and that was it. It's totally useless for every other class I took.

So he might be in the minority for your major, but it is definitely not true that laptops are better for all notetaking and he's not showing his age by saying that. Not everybody uses one in college, and for legitimate reason.

 

[gumbyx84]

I graduated college very recently and unless you were in a freshman level gen ed class there were NEVER any laptops to be seen. You printed the slides and annotated them by hand. Why? Because you can't draw flowcharts, structures, sequential pathways with a keyboard. I used a laptop in I think statistics 101 and that was it. It's totally useless for every other class I took.

So he might be in the minority for your major, but it is definitely not true that laptops are better for all notetaking and he's not showing his age by saying that. Not everybody uses one in college, and for legitimate reason.

While I agree with you, I recommend you leave it be. They are going to continue arguing no matter what you say.

Wish a mod would close this thread. It has fallen off the rails.

 

[MrPeanut]

I had this same problem, i ended up getting the 13 inch high end macbook pro and im very happy with it. I would have preferred to have gotten the 15 inch really, but the 13 inch is so perfect for carrying around and it is big enough. I think the 15 inch obviously has its advantages but i think the disadvantages outweigh them.... pun intended. BTW i'm on a games design course and im using 3D programs so i require a big screen and the 13 inch one seems adequate enough. My advice is just to have a look at each model when you get in the store before you buy.

Hope this helps

 

[HBOC]

wow, this thread went sideways.

Now I will give my input

I attend an Art Institute here in Portland, so I NEED a computer with almost every class, minus the writing, math, art classes, etc...

When taking notes, whether it may be an HTML class or writing, I take notes by hand. One, because I don't type that fast, and two, I retain information by typing the notes I took onto my computer, or typing up an assignment. Just the way I have always been, plus I graduated HS in 1997, when laptops weren't the norm.

As far as a 13" vs 15", it all depends on what you are studying. If you are going to work with After Effects, I would go with the 15", if just general stuff, the 13" would be fine.

My brother JUST bought a 13" MBP a few days ago (I have now converted 2 people to Mac!). He came from a 15" HP that lasted 2 years, maybe. He was originally going to get a 15", but he said for some reason the 15" MBP looked bigger than his HP. The 13" fits his needs fine, and he is in school as well.

 

[efuggetta]

For those of you who have the 15" Macbook Pro, how does it feel carrying it around everywhere?

Those with the 13", do you feel cramped with the small screen size (I'm not buying an external monitor)

I had the 15" 2.53 late 2008 MBP, and while it certainly isn't a clunker, I had a hard time finding convenient bags for it, and it was a little heavy for me (I'm kind of a wimp). So I sold it and got the 13" 2.26 MBP, and I LOVE IT!!!!

Here's why:
*It's SO portable. It fits in all my handbags and is super light.
*It does everything I need--Photoshop CS4, the Sims 3, InDesign--with absolutely no problem. And I haven't even upgraded the RAM yet! Coming from the 2.53, I was afraid I'd be disappointed, but I'm not.
*The screen is SO bright--waaay brighter than old Macbooks. The way I use mine when I want to seriously save battery is the way my friend's looks at full brightness. This WAS a big draw to the pro, but no more.
*I actually find it more comfortable to type on because the length from the edge of the keyboard to the edge of the computer is shorter--on my MBP, I hated having to rest my arms (rather than my wrists) on the computer.

You say you aren't buying an external monitor, but may I humbly ask if you have a television? I just use my LCD tv as a monitore when I want to watch Netflix movies on the bigger screen using a MiniDisplayPort to VGA adapter ($29).

Other than movies sometimes, I never miss the big screen. And I even had a 17" MBP at one point. The 13" is well worth the portability.

Also, I want to add that I'm a journalism/photojournalism major, and I'm the editor of the school's paper, so I am on this computer roughly 10 hours a day--this is not a "casual Web browsing, word processing, e-mail" situation. This thing is my life.