The Ideal Law School Laptop

[jetlagz28]

so after 8 pages of posts, what's the concensus?

What PC am I buying (macs are too cool and pricey for my blood)?

Hell if I know. Seems the Laptop + Netbook combo is popular this year.

What has long battery life, low price, good stats?

[sheltron5000]

For netbooks I really like the dell mini 9 or the HP1000.

The dell is totally silent (no fan, passive cooling), lightweight, and has nice (water resistant) snappy keys, with a touch pad that make sense (plus it's SUPER cheap). For people who care more about quotes/apostrophes than I do the HP1000 has a really nice, big for netbooks, keyboard. I thought it was loud and hot though. I really can't stand fan noise in libraries/classrooms so I went with the dell.

I don't think battery life is all that important since the ac adapters are SO small/light, and really what kind of law school doesn't have abundant power? My battery lasts about 3.5 hours watching .avi movies on low brightness with bluetooth and wifi off. I get about 4 hours with wifi on, surfing internet and whatnot.

[UNC2009]

Just ordered my Samsung NC10 from Sam's Club online for $432 all in. 4 weeks to deliver. Very excited. Also buying the 2GB RAM separately.

[Lem37]

I just got my MacBook Pro. It makes me warm and fuzzy inside. This is my first Mac - after 2 dead PC laptops which died fairly quickly.

[jr0008]

Im torn between the sony vaio vgn z610 and the macbook. I'm not really concerned with the price difference (sony = 1899 & mac = 1599). Any comments on which would be better for law school? I hear onenote is exclusively for PCs and there's nothing comparable on a mac...true?

[awesomepossum]

the mac feature of being able to close your computer and open it and just continue on is super super super invaluable.

the mac feature of not crashing randomly when you have too many documents or other programs on is nice too.

I've had a PC forever. This is my first mac and it's perfect for law school.

[bartleby]

the mac feature of being able to close your computer and open it and just continue on is super super super invaluable.

Can't a PC also do this?

[Spor]

the mac feature of being able to close your computer and open it and just continue on is super super super invaluable.

Can't a PC also do this?

Yes, it's a simple option in the power settings. By default they are always set to sleep on lid close, but you can set it to do whatever you want, including doing nothing.

It's one of the first things I change on every laptop I setup.

[superflush]

Yes, it's a simple option in the power settings. By default they are always set to sleep on lid close, but you can set it to do whatever you want, including doing nothing.

It's one of the first things I change on every laptop I setup.

True, but it still has to turn on from standby, and isn't as quick as a mac.

[Spor]

Yes, it's a simple option in the power settings. By default they are always set to sleep on lid close, but you can set it to do whatever you want, including doing nothing.

It's one of the first things I change on every laptop I setup.

True, but it still has to turn on from standby, and isn't as quick as a mac.

Just before typing this I opened and closed the lid without it doing anything. Doesn't go into sleep mode, doesn't hibernate, doesn't standby---it stays on. The laptop is fully on and ready to go before I get the lid up.

You can easily set it up to do NOTHING when it closes. But if other laptops can't be setup like this, I would have to agree that would be extremely annoying.

[superflush]

Just before typing this I opened and closed the lid without it doing anything. Doesn't go into sleep mode, doesn't hibernate, doesn't standby---it stays on. The laptop is fully on and ready to go before I get the lid up.

You can easily set it up to do NOTHING when it closes. But if other laptops can't be setup like this, I would have to agree that would be extremely annoying.

Yes, I'm aware of all of this. But the mac feature is better, and possums point makes sense.

[leron]

how is it better? on a pc you can set it up so the only thing that happens when you close the lid is the screen turns off. when you open it, it turns back on.

[superflush]

how is it better? on a pc you can set it up so the only thing that happens when you close the lid is the screen turns off. when you open it, it turns back on.

The battery is still running less efficiently on a windows notebook when only the screen is turned off, in comparison to when a macbook sleeps.

[leron]

oh, i thought you were talking about not going into sleep mode. why is that? i know on a pc you can customize it very much such as to say how the hard drive will run with the lid closes, how wireless will run, etc. or you can just say mac just runs more efficiently

[jessicaw]

Anybody have any experience with Solid State Drives? Are they worth the extra money?

Wikipedia suggests that they are AWESOME except that they degrade with usage. I'm unclear as to how quickly this would become a problem...

EDIT: or experience with HYBRID DRIVES? (i just read about this... wow)

[Aqualibrium]

I just don't see how a $1500+ laptop is "ideal" for someone who is just looking to type notes, check email, watch a dvd or two....doesn't make much sense to me.

[superflush]

I just don't see how a $1500+ laptop is "ideal" for someone who is just looking to type notes, check email, watch a dvd or two....doesn't make much sense to me.

Who said thats all one is looking to do.

[1000bmr]

Anybody have any experience with Solid State Drives? Are they worth the extra money?

Wikipedia suggests that they are AWESOME except that they degrade with usage. I'm unclear as to how quickly this would become a problem...

EDIT: or experience with HYBRID DRIVES? (i just read about this... wow)

If you don't know if a component is worth the extra money, it probably isn't. An exception would be ram, which I would max out (your hardware limitations or 3GB for any Windows OS except Vista 64-bit, whichever is lower).

I'll outline a reasonably powerful setup for boring law student purposes (work, media, minimal gaming). Hopefully if you're a gamer or a graphic designer you already know which components you need to upgrade.

CPU: 2-2.5 ghz core2duo
RAM: 3 gb for anything except vista x64 (perhaps 4-8gb for vista x64, depending on hardware and pocketbook limitations)
OS: your preference is fine. XP has better battery life than vista.
Graphics card: 128-256mb. ati is terrible, but if you're not a gamer you are very unlikely to notice a difference between nvidia and ati.
Hard drive: 80gb absolute bare minimum. 120-160gb (7200rpm) would likely get the job done. if you're downloading a lot of files, hopefully you already know how much extra you need. don't be sucked in my fancy-pants solid state.
Battery: the best you can get, plus a smaller spare (if available).
Wifi: i would go with the new -N standard, but go G if you're cheap and not easily frustrated.

a major brand's system at the higher-end of my range might run $1,700, while one at the lower end might run $700. laptops can be had from $400 to $4,000, but i think my range is where the good value lies.

one more thing to keep in mind: the more juice you have, the faster you're going to drain your battery. this can be mitigated by adjusting your power settings (performance when plugged in vs. on battery), but not completely.

[jr0008]

I just don't see how a $1500+ laptop is "ideal" for someone who is just looking to type notes, check email, watch a dvd or two....doesn't make much sense to me.

Who said thats all one is looking to do.

+1

[labellavita]

the mac feature of being able to close your computer and open it and just continue on is super super super invaluable.

the mac feature of not crashing randomly when you have too many documents or other programs on is nice too.

I've had a PC forever. This is my first mac and it's perfect for law school.

+100

I'm LOVING my new MacBook!

[Aqualibrium]

I just don't see how a $1500+ laptop is "ideal" for someone who is just looking to type notes, check email, watch a dvd or two....doesn't make much sense to me.

Who said thats all one is looking to do.

+1

Well I just don't see you having time to create huge files in CS3 or editing hd videos on your 1800 dollar mac book pro lol.

[superflush]

Well I just don't see you having time to create huge files in CS3 or editing hd videos on your 1800 dollar mac book pro lol.

Okay, well, then, if you want, just get the cheapest unibody macbook for $1250 with the education discount.

[dmreust]

I've been mulling over what laptop to get for a while. I actually purchased a refurbished Dell Studio XPS 13 and had to return it. It kept freezing (after the second boot) and the media controls did not work all the time. Overall, I was frustrated but they were really good at taking it back without any hassle. For anyone looking at this option I would like to note that I, and some friends, have had other positive experiences with Dell outlet.

That being said, I doubt I'm going to go with Dell outlet again. Right now I'm pretty hung up between a Lenovo Y450 and a 2.4Ghz Macbook. I do have one question for those people using Macbooks. What note taking software are you using? I have played around with One note and it seems amazing. The only dedicated note taking software I've seen for the Mac is Omni Outliner and I was considerable underwhelmed after having played with One note. Could someone please shed some light on this for me?

[superflush]

I do have one question for those people using Macbooks. What note taking software are you using? I have played around with One note and it seems amazing. The only dedicated note taking software I've seen for the Mac is Omni Outliner and I was considerable underwhelmed after having played with One note. Could someone please shed some light on this for me?

+1. I'm also interested in the answer to this.

[bigben]

how is it better? on a pc you can set it up so the only thing that happens when you close the lid is the screen turns off. when you open it, it turns back on.

The battery is still running less efficiently on a windows notebook when only the screen is turned off, in comparison to when a macbook sleeps.

Lol, it is obvious you have no idea what you are talking about.