Sundance Kid said:
15" is definitely lighter and more portable... but not by that much. It's like a 17" that was left in the dryer too long and shrunk a little bit.
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expressing my dismay
- Thread starter Rob587
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15" is definitely lighter and more portable... but not by that much. It's like a 17" that was left in the dryer too long and shrunk a little bit.
Rob587 said:
KeyboardVideoMouse.. KVM.
Basically a box where you can plug in a monitor, a keyboard, and a mouse, and it'll have a couple (depending on how much you pay
) ports on the back of the box with cables (video/mouse/keyboard) that you attach to multiple computers. Wanna user computer A? Press button A. Wanna switch to computer B? Press button B. Etc.Makes having multiple computers quite nice, without the clutter of multiple monitors/keyboards/mice.
I suggested it because if you got a USB KVM, then you could just plug your 12" PB into the KVM when you get home to your dorm room, close the lid (and run it with the lid closed), and use it to do whatever schoolwork you have to do while looking at a nice big monitor and using a regular keyboard and mouse.. then quietly switch to your PC and waste 2 hours playing CS when you should be finishing that paper on underwater basket weaving or whatever..
Long (long) point short.. it's a clutter reducer.
iOGEAR KVMs
Note that DVI-based kvm's are somewhat rare and all of them (except some hella expensive Gefen models) have relatively low max resolution. They'll drive a 20" Cinema but not a 23". So get a display you can hook up to vga if you go the kvm route or be prepared to shell out ~450 for a 2-port kvm. Ouch!
get the 12 inch PB and reuse your 17 inch CRT. I would also get an external drive for backup. Can't risk losing your class work due to a laptop failure
Passante said:
No! No CRT! God, do you have any idea how small the desks are in those dorms? CRTs take up the entire space! I would have killed for an LCD when I was in college. I lugged my 19" up WAY too many flights of stairs.
I pitty the man who doesn't drop $250 and gets a cheap 19" lcd.
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12"
Get the 12". You'll appreciate the portability.
17" is just ridiculous to take to class. In my program (law) 99% of the student body have laptops. I LAUGH at the people with 17" laptops. It's just too big.
History, is a discipline where you'll appreciate having a laptop. Taking hand-written notes in history is painful. You'll probably use the laptop a lot so I'd go for portability of a 12" pb.
Get the 12". You'll appreciate the portability.
17" is just ridiculous to take to class. In my program (law) 99% of the student body have laptops. I LAUGH at the people with 17" laptops. It's just too big.
History, is a discipline where you'll appreciate having a laptop. Taking hand-written notes in history is painful. You'll probably use the laptop a lot so I'd go for portability of a 12" pb.
I say 17". I lug my trusty pismo to class every day, something that compares to the 17" is size and weight. I figure you will be using this computer at home/dorms 90% of the time, and class only like 7% of the time, the other 3 being at a study area or libary.
The fact is you don't need the 17" res for notes is stupid, because what about when you get back out of class? I wouldn't want to work only on 1024x786. (and a single large display is better than 2 medium displays IMO)
plus, when you go with the 17, you get a faster G4, a much bigger Hard-drive, and get to drop that piece of *** Geforce FX for a 9700. I know someone who uses a boat of a 17" PC notebook in classes all the time, the PB should be fine.
The fact is you don't need the 17" res for notes is stupid, because what about when you get back out of class? I wouldn't want to work only on 1024x786. (and a single large display is better than 2 medium displays IMO)
plus, when you go with the 17, you get a faster G4, a much bigger Hard-drive, and get to drop that piece of *** Geforce FX for a 9700. I know someone who uses a boat of a 17" PC notebook in classes all the time, the PB should be fine.
well, I think ive decided to get a 12" pb with a 20" apple display and an almost top of the line dell desktop, to be used stricktley for gamming. I would probally prefer a 15" pb, especially for when I go home for breaks, but it would be unessicary power since the dell will be used for the gamming. I also dont really like how the 15"pb looks when plugged into a 20" moniter(just my opinion), and I also think that getting a 23"apple or a 24" dell is just too big for a college student. maybee I should get the 15", I dunno.
CS
I strongly recommend that you put CS behind you and move on to more interesting things at college. I know, it's addictive, but it's time to move on. The next four years will fly by incredibly fast, so soak it up. Get involved with something creative - some performing group, the newspaper, whatever. (Also, just in case, don't put posters of models, etc. on your walls.) "Don't let school interfere with your education."
Back on topic, even if you will be majoring in history (at least, for the moment - many people change their major) you'll be taking a variety of classes, many of which may not be suitable for taking notes on a laptop. So, you may be porting it less often than you think. (I went to the movies recently, and some guy had his laptop with him. He was playing a game, while waiting in the theater! With his girlfriend (I assume) next to him. ) The 6.9 lbs. 17" though is rather heavy, but I have seen people pull them out of their backpacks. It really is beautifully designed. I want the 15" for the backlit keyboard, a little extra screen real estate, and when on my lap it would span my legs more easily.
So, I guess in the end, I recommend the 15".
I strongly recommend that you put CS behind you and move on to more interesting things at college.
I know, it's addictive, but it's time to move on. The next four years will fly by incredibly fast, so soak it up. Get involved with something creative - some performing group, the newspaper, whatever. (Also, just in case, don't put posters of models, etc. on your walls.) "Don't let school interfere with your education."Back on topic, even if you will be majoring in history (at least, for the moment - many people change their major) you'll be taking a variety of classes, many of which may not be suitable for taking notes on a laptop. So, you may be porting it less often than you think. (I went to the movies recently, and some guy had his laptop with him. He was playing a game, while waiting in the theater! With his girlfriend (I assume) next to him.
) The 6.9 lbs. 17" though is rather heavy, but I have seen people pull them out of their backpacks. It really is beautifully designed. I want the 15" for the backlit keyboard, a little extra screen real estate, and when on my lap it would span my legs more easily. So, I guess in the end, I recommend the 15".
You can get the widescreen Dell 20" for about $500 right now, today. Check http://dealmac.com. The dell, while ugly, has a very nice samsung panel and vga input as well as dvi. But if you're just going for a 20", the dvi kvms *shouldn't* be a problem.Rob587 said:
EDIT: here's a direct link to dealmac's coverage of that dell panel: http://dealmac.com/artclick.html?82424,114774
Taking a laptop to class is *fantastic* for any social science - political science, philosophy, and especially history are delightful; I get to sit there and write out full sentences as fast as the prof spits them out, while everyone around me frantically scribbles half-legible fragments.
In math classes... not so much.
As for size, the 17" is unneccessary. They're stupidly huge, and can't be effectively transported anywhere - hell, they won't even *fit* in a lot of bags. Most students don't take their laptops to class because they don't think of it; besides, most people have gigantic Windows laptops with 15" screens that weigh 8+ pounds. They don't even fit on a lot of the smaller desks in lecture halls. With a slim and light PowerBook that has good battery life, portable note-taking is actually an option. I'm moving from a 14" Dell laptop to a 12" PowerBook for my last year of school for just that reason; I want something even smaller and even more portable, while I keep a nice big Dell LCD on my desk for my desktop. The cost of a 17" would set you up nicely with, say, a 12" iBook plus a PowerMac and monitor, or an iMac. The 17" PB isn't portable like the smaller 'books, its battery life stinks, and it doesn't offer G5 power - it's mediocre at almost everything. Go with a 12" and a desktop, or just a 15", if you want to actually benefit from having a laptop.
In math classes... not so much.
As for size, the 17" is unneccessary. They're stupidly huge, and can't be effectively transported anywhere - hell, they won't even *fit* in a lot of bags. Most students don't take their laptops to class because they don't think of it; besides, most people have gigantic Windows laptops with 15" screens that weigh 8+ pounds. They don't even fit on a lot of the smaller desks in lecture halls. With a slim and light PowerBook that has good battery life, portable note-taking is actually an option. I'm moving from a 14" Dell laptop to a 12" PowerBook for my last year of school for just that reason; I want something even smaller and even more portable, while I keep a nice big Dell LCD on my desk for my desktop. The cost of a 17" would set you up nicely with, say, a 12" iBook plus a PowerMac and monitor, or an iMac. The 17" PB isn't portable like the smaller 'books, its battery life stinks, and it doesn't offer G5 power - it's mediocre at almost everything. Go with a 12" and a desktop, or just a 15", if you want to actually benefit from having a laptop.