Laptop Screen Size and Exams Forum
- tallboone
- Posts: 298
- Joined: Thu May 21, 2009 12:27 am
Laptop Screen Size and Exams
Is having a larger laptop (say 15-in. vs. 13-in.) at all beneficial for taking exams? Or is it just a pain to haul to class?
- Blindmelon
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- Joined: Thu Mar 26, 2009 11:13 am
Re: Laptop Screen Size and Exams
I took all my exams on a netbook. No issues at all - never really wished I had a bigger screen.
- tallboone
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- Joined: Thu May 21, 2009 12:27 am
Re: Laptop Screen Size and Exams
OK. I was just wondering if exams are open note, it might be nice to be able to put two windows side-by-side while you are taking your exam. Can you even have other programs open when you are taking an exam?
- vanwinkle
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- Joined: Sun Dec 21, 2008 3:02 am
Re: Laptop Screen Size and Exams
Took all my exams on a 13" laptop. Did well enough. Didn't feel handicapped by the size of the screen at all.
My only wish is that my laptop was lighter. This is especially true now that I have a 20-minute walk to class every day. Maybe I'll get a MacBook Air...
My only wish is that my laptop was lighter. This is especially true now that I have a 20-minute walk to class every day. Maybe I'll get a MacBook Air...
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Re: Laptop Screen Size and Exams
Think long and hard before doing that one. Even trying to edit a simple Keynote presentation on an Air is a chore. It is really much more of a consumption/presentation tool than any kind of content creation machine.vanwinkle wrote: Maybe I'll get a MacBook Air...
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Re: Laptop Screen Size and Exams
Really? Not my experience using my friends Air. It wasn't all that much slower than my MBP and has a full-size keyboard. What are you basing not being able to edit a Keynote presentation on? Hell, you can do that on an iPad.CyLaw wrote:Think long and hard before doing that one. Even trying to edit a simple Keynote presentation on an Air is a chore. It is really much more of a consumption/presentation tool than any kind of content creation machine.vanwinkle wrote: Maybe I'll get a MacBook Air...
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- Joined: Mon Jan 05, 2009 3:02 am
Re: Laptop Screen Size and Exams
I have used a big screen 17, smaller screen 14, medium screen 16, and now I am back to a smaller screen 14. I think that 14 is the best becuase it is so much easier to haul around. Plus, if you are in a class that is crowded, space is limited when you try to fit a big screen laptop + your casebook on the desk.
Also, if you are using examsoft you are not going to be able to use your notes side by side the "bluebook"
Also, if you are using examsoft you are not going to be able to use your notes side by side the "bluebook"
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Re: Laptop Screen Size and Exams
(One example) Had to use one for a presentation I was doing, and making some changes to a chart prior to the presentation kept crippling the machine. It could just be some zombie processes or like that they had running in the background (as it was not my machine). But it definitely turned me off to the Air. And yeah, you can do SOME presentations on the ipad. But there is a reason why they restricted the amount of what you can do on the iPad version of Keynote. My only point is that the Air, at least in my *limited* experience with it, does not seem well suited as a main platform, so I don't know if the marginal weight difference is really worth it compared to say a 13" Macbook Pro.blowhard wrote:Really? Not my experience using my friends Air. It wasn't all that much slower than my MBP and has a full-size keyboard. What are you basing not being able to edit a Keynote presentation on? Hell, you can do that on an iPad.CyLaw wrote:Think long and hard before doing that one. Even trying to edit a simple Keynote presentation on an Air is a chore. It is really much more of a consumption/presentation tool than any kind of content creation machine.vanwinkle wrote: Maybe I'll get a MacBook Air...
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Re: Laptop Screen Size and Exams
Something was up with their config. You should see very little performance drop. Was it an SSD machine? First gen or one of the newer ones? It's possible they had some kind of file transfer or processing going on in the background. SSDs aren't great at simultaneous seeks.CyLaw wrote:(One example) Had to use one for a presentation I was doing, and making some changes to a chart prior to the presentation kept crippling the machine. It could just be some zombie processes or like that they had running in the background (as it was not my machine). But it definitely turned me off to the Air. And yeah, you can do SOME presentations on the ipad. But there is a reason why they restricted the amount of what you can do on the iPad version of Keynote. My only point is that the Air, at least in my *limited* experience with it, does not seem well suited as a main platform, so I don't know if the marginal weight difference is really worth it compared to say a 13" Macbook Pro.blowhard wrote:Really? Not my experience using my friends Air. It wasn't all that much slower than my MBP and has a full-size keyboard. What are you basing not being able to edit a Keynote presentation on? Hell, you can do that on an iPad.CyLaw wrote:Think long and hard before doing that one. Even trying to edit a simple Keynote presentation on an Air is a chore. It is really much more of a consumption/presentation tool than any kind of content creation machine.vanwinkle wrote: Maybe I'll get a MacBook Air...
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Re: Laptop Screen Size and Exams
Definitely first gen (which is almost always a mistake). And since it is the machine they give to presenters to run code on, would not be surprised if there were just a lot to background processes that were never properly killed and were running at startup. My rational side knows that it was probably the machine setup and not the machine. But it just left a bad taste in my mouth re: the Air, since I have not had similar problems with any MacBook Pros that were loaned to me for code presentations.blowhard wrote: Something was up with their config. You should see very little performance drop. Was it an SSD machine? First gen or one of the newer ones? It's possible they had some kind of file transfer or processing going on in the background. SSDs aren't great at simultaneous seeks.
OP, Sorry for the thread derailment.