New MacBook Pro or iPad for college use

[parkm13]

get a new macbook and sell your old one.
im in college and i can tell you that you want a laptop that will work all 4 years (or however many you plan on taking) the one you have right now might work now but what about in a year if it fails? then what? best not to take any chance,

Exactly. I don't what to have to deal with moving everything over expecally if I get into some more advanced programs.

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As of now, I have a 13 inch. I think I would like to step up to a 15 inch. Is that a good idea? I'm not too worried about carrying it around as I will always just carry it in my backpack.

 

[MaxxTraxx]

If your current MBP is working fine, why do you want to upgrade? Most college applications will not be tough at all. Your MBP should be fine as it is.

 

[KUguardgrl13]

Exactly. I don't what to have to deal with moving everything over expecally if I get into some more advanced programs.

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As of now, I have a 13 inch. I think I would like to step up to a 15 inch. Is that a good idea? I'm not too worried about carrying it around as I will always just carry it in my backpack.

I've certainly known people who have carried a 15 in around campus. Sort of depends on if you need your textbooks in class. Some of those engineering books can be pretty large.

 

[parkm13]

If your current MBP is working fine, why do you want to upgrade? Most college applications will not be tough at all. Your MBP should be fine as it is.

I have three main reasons to want to upgrade. First I would like to have a bigger screen. Second, wouldn't mind having a speed bump, this one hangs sometimes when working in Inventor/Solidworks. Third, would love the better screen and just like having the newest tech.

In addition to those my grandparents/family are very proud of me for getting a full ride and are offering to buy me just about anything for the hard work I have put in so far. I already saved them $25,500 a semester, not too bad . I don't want to just waste their money by getting something that wont help me the most. So that is why this thread was made.

 

[makinao]

Assuming your engineering course is 5 years, I suggest you max out your present MBP. RAM, HD, OS, the works. Beat it up for the next 2-3 years. Then when the heat is on in your 4th year, get a new MBP with applecare. The last thing you need in your last two years is a computer on its last legs. (Hmmmmm ... I actually said "last" three times in one sentence. LOL)

Get an iPad too. There are times when using a laptop is a pain, like reading journal articles in bed, writing while commuting, stuff like that.

Finally, pen and paper. I didn't use it much for my PhD (Social Sciences), but had at least a small notebook in my bag all the time ... because you never know what will hit you.

 

[saberahul]

I'm a grad student in computer engineering. I can say that if you are not paying, a retina MBP is by far and away the better choice; that will serve you well into your college career.

Many math focused apps would run fine under OS X; such as Matlab, runs fine on any version of OS X, with xquartz installed. Macs are prevalent in math departments in most universities, and preferred probably by a majority of math majors. You can also run Windows in VM for the few engineering apps that are not OS X compatible yet.

Taking note on a tablet is awful, not worth wasting your time. Writing on a normal capacitive touch screen is an exercise in frustration, if you want accurate hand writing and not fatiguing your wrist/forearm for extended use. I have tried a variety of tablets, including a couple of version of the ipad for note taking, most of them are invariably bad, since the styli lack the variable friction that you expect from writing on paper, and most tablets have no pressure sensitivity built into the digitizer. And palm rejection is not terribly reliable on any capacitive touch screen these days.

Accurate writing on a screen usually requires a wacom digitizer built into the screen, which exists on very few tablets. The only tablet that I have found tolerable for note-taking is the Entourage edge: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=218
And they don't make them any more; I used this out of necessity for my mathematical graph theory classes (as I frequently had to produce digital copies of my notes, and most of the notes have to be hand drawn).

For most engineering classes, a rMBP will be great for note-taking. Use Daum Equation Editor or similar apps to compose complex formulae (you will get used to them pretty quickly, and it helps to give you some quick intro to Latex, which is a requirement in later engineering classes/research). The only concern would be battery life through a day, if you don't have a place to recharge in the middle of the day. Maybe an external battery pack would be a good investment if you have to go >6 hr on the go.

Note taking on a tablet depends on what you use. Notability has wrist protection which you can easily rest your wrist on then use a stylus without fatigue. I've written over 500MB worth of notes (including pictures of course) using Notability.

As for VM Ware, yes you can but you will run into trouble when running simulation software like Arena. In all honesty, taking engineering notes on a laptop is the hardest thing for me unless you have loads of time or are an expert in Latex.

As for Mac's being prevented in most math departments, I've never heard this before. I received my PhD in applied math and statistics and never ran into this sort of trouble.

 

[snaky69]

So now a few more of you are saying go with the laptop. Any apps you would recommend getting for the macbook to take notes on? Or would you recommend just using a pages document.

Also if I do end up going with a new macbook should I get the Air or the retina? 13 or 15inch?

I just finished my Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. Trust me, a pen and paper will serve you much better for taking notes.

I'm very fast on a keyboard, but could never keep up with all the sketches, equations and schematics in my notes with a computer.

I used the laptop when it came to reports, Matlab, Maple, Excel or CAD, otherwise, it stayed in my backpack.

A few friends tried it with an iPad, they were ditched within a semester, simply not efficient enough.

In fact, I'd even vote against buying a new computer. Most schools have computers that will kick even a rMBP square in the nads performance wise when you need to do some heavy computational lifting.

 

[Haiku214]

I just finished my Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. Trust me, a pen and paper will serve you much better for taking notes.

I'm very fast on a keyboard, but could never keep up with all the sketches, equations and schematics in my notes with a computer.

I used the laptop when it came to reports, Matlab, Maple, Excel or CAD, otherwise, it stayed in my backpack.

A few friends tried it with an iPad, they were ditched within a semester, simply not efficient enough.

In fact, I'd even vote against buying a new computer. Most schools have computers that will kick even a rMBP square in the nads performance wise when you need to do some heavy computational lifting.

As an electrical engineering graduate myself, I completely agree. He simply just wants a new toy to get him excited to go to college, just like anyone else in their first year.

 

[parkm13]

As an electrical engineering graduate myself, I completely agree. He simply just wants a new toy to get him excited to go to college, just like anyone else in their first year.

So is there anything you would recommend I get before college?