Computers for Law School 2011 Forum

[Miznitic]

During class
404 - Page not found
(wireless gremlin)
"Hey, I can't connect. God damnit, guess I gotta use Word"

During Exams
404 - Page not found
(wireless gremlin)
OH F^CK. MY NOTES! (assume openbook) (shoots self)

[Miznitic]

Well, obviously not during exams, but well, you get my point.

[ResolutePear]

During class
404 - Page not found
(wireless gremlin)
"Hey, I can't connect. God damnit, guess I gotta use Word"

During Exams
404 - Page not found
(wireless gremlin)
OH F^CK. MY NOTES! (assume openbook) (shoots self)

That's not a stability issue. That's an access issue and totally on your end.

Besides, these are AJAX/Silverlight applications. The dynamics are a bit different.

[Paraflam]

ITT: ResolutePear doesn't know what he's talking about.

[ResolutePear]

[quote="Paraflam"]ITT: ResolutePear doesn't know what he's talking about.[/quote]


Contribute specifics or GTFO.

[beach_terror]

ITT: ResolutePear doesn't know what he's talking about.

--ImageRemoved--

[Hippononymous]

IMO, Pear knows what he's talking about when it comes to this stuff... Except that MS Office 2007 was an odd year...

Anyways, I still don't get why people buy a Mac to run Windows on it... that's just silly.

I own an x220i, and so far, I like the keyboard. But I haven't done intensive notetaking with it yet.

[ResolutePear]

IMO, Pear knows what he's talking about when it comes to this stuff... Except that MS Office 2007 was an odd year...

Anyways, I still don't get why people buy a Mac to run Windows on it... that's just silly.

I own an x220i, and so far, I like the keyboard. But I haven't done intensive notetaking with it yet.

Yeah, 2007 was an odd year. It's supposed to keep that trend now though until Office 2015.

[Sandrew]

Oh man. I didn't expect to incite such disagreement!

There's no reason. Office 2011(the Mac version) is the splitting image of the windows version

I genuinely did not know that. It's been ages since I used a Mac version of Office. I guess I just assumed it would be different. Anyway, thanks for the heads-up. Hopefully someone else will see this and avoid my mistake.

psst... he wants to use OneNote, which is absent from the Mac version of Office.

I confess. OneNote was a major factor. And I had no idea it was available for free as a web-based version. Another good tip.

I, however, did not find any of the differences between the two programs (OneNote and Growly) to be worth putting Windows on my Air. If you don't mind me asking, what do you love so much about OneNote that has you bothering with virtualization? I have played with OneNote extensively at work, and I don't see the big deal.

Busted again! I don't even know much about the differences between OneNote and Growly, to be honest. In fact, I'd never used either application until last week! I just kinda messed around with each for a couple days on my desktop, and OneNote seemed more powerful. There were a few differences that I noticed, like user-customizable tags, OCR, and the ability to "print" to OneNote, that seemed like they might be useful in law school. Which isn't to say that I'll actually use them. In all likelihood, I'll probably revert back to the notetaking system I used when I was in college--i.e. pen and paper.

In any event, I'm actually enjoying running Parallels, if for no better reason than novelty. It's kinda fun to be able to "swipe" between spaces and see a different OS.

[ColomboHeat]

I think the only time Growly might let me down is if i want to share my outline with someone else who uses Windows, because I will only be able to export to HTML. I need to test that and see how well it comes out before I seriously invest my note-taking time in that program. I did read that OneNote will let you dump several PDF files into the notebook and then use the find feature to search them all at the same time. I'm sure that may come in handy for research purposes, and I don't think Growly can do that.

otherwise, I have been really satisfied with Growly. on a daily basis, I will probably just be using Office 2011 in notebook format - then start doing my actual outline in Growly... maybe in the OneNote web app too... simultaneously at least when I first start to see which I like doing more.

[Asleep]

I'm sure the answer I'm looking for is in here somewhere (actually I know it is since I read through the thread a while ago), but I can't find it now. I'm looking for a laptop with the best keyboard for typing. This laptop is primarily for law school, but if I could use it for gaming that would be a definite plus. Reliability is defnitely the most important part. Looking to spend less than $1,000, but can spend a bit more if necessary.

Recommendations?

[albanach]

Recommendations?

The recommendation you're going to get from 50 pages of this thread is to buy either a Mac or a ThinkPad.

Your budget doesn't stretch to a mac with any sort of decent warranty. You probably want this laptop to last you the three years of school.

You should, however, be able to buy either a ThinkPad T420 or an X220 with a three year onsite warranty and thinkpad protection (accidental damage cover). They're not the prettiest, but you get the best keyboard available on a laptop - important at exam time.

The T420 gets you a larger screen, bigger palm rest and an optical drive.

The X220 gets you a better quality screen (select the premium screen for an extra $50) - albeit smaller, better battery life and more portability should you be walking/cycling.

Look back a few pages and find the Barnes and Noble link for a substantial discount on ThinkPads.

[Asleep]

Any difference in the keyboard in a T420i and a T420?

[albanach]

Any difference in the keyboard in a T420i and a T420?

The keyboard should be the same. The primary differences with the i are lower end processors - still plenty fast for school, no USB3 (you don't need it anyway) and no discrete graphics card (so probably no recent games).

[Mike12188]

Thought I'd share this for anyone looking to buy a printer...

http://www.staples.com/Brother-HL-2240- ... uct_886402

If my apartments business center didn't have the same printers I'd def buy one for 60 bucks.

[loblaw]

Just bought an X220 with the B&N discount--was right around $700 with tax and 1 yr next business day warranty. I'm really hoping I can deal with the screen--the wrist thing won't bother me because of the way I type.

[BeanTownBee]

Thought I'd share this for anyone looking to buy a printer...

http://www.staples.com/Brother-HL-2240- ... uct_886402

If my apartments business center didn't have the same printers I'd def buy one for 60 bucks.

That's great, I'm still debating about getting a printer or not, but $60 might just do it.

[BeanTownBee]

Just bought an X220 with the B&N discount--was right around $700 with tax and 1 yr next business day warranty. I'm really hoping I can deal with the screen--the wrist thing won't bother me because of the way I type.

What did they quote you for shipping time? I bought an X220 on the 7th and they told me i would ship on the 24th. I've been calling and emailing trying to get that changed; supposed to hear from them by tonight.

[loblaw]

Just bought an X220 with the B&N discount--was right around $700 with tax and 1 yr next business day warranty. I'm really hoping I can deal with the screen--the wrist thing won't bother me because of the way I type.

What did they quote you for shipping time? I bought an X220 on the 7th and they told me i would ship on the 24th. I've been calling and emailing trying to get that changed; supposed to hear from them by tonight.

Damn, mine says 8/25. Before I customized, it was 8/16. Let me know if you have any luck; I may try the same.

[Mike12188]

Thought I'd share this for anyone looking to buy a printer...

http://www.staples.com/Brother-HL-2240- ... uct_886402

If my apartments business center didn't have the same printers I'd def buy one for 60 bucks.

That's great, I'm still debating about getting a printer or not, but $60 might just do it.

Me too especially because they have the same printer in the business center of my apartment building

[Paraflam]

If my apartments business center didn't have the same printers I'd def buy one for 60 bucks.

Me too especially because they have the same printer in the business center of my apartment building

GOD OK WE GET IT

[Mike12188]

If my apartments business center didn't have the same printers I'd def buy one for 60 bucks.

Me too especially because they have the same printer in the business center of my apartment building

GOD OK WE GET IT

Haha, im sorry I didnt realize I did that.

but anyway I'd get one if they weren't in the business center downstairs

[Paraflam]

[BeanTownBee]

Damn, mine says 8/25. Before I customized, it was 8/16. Let me know if you have any luck; I may try the same.

No such luck so far. Have e-mailed, called and chatted with a Lenovo rep to no avail. I keep getting the same response "It's just an estimated shipping date, it will probably ship sooner" regardless of my threats to cancel order and file a claim with the BBB. Maybe they called my bluff...maybe they're right

The Lenovo chat rep - Patrick N (PN7) - did tell me the X220s have been shipping fairly fast and he estimates 7-10 days until they ship. I'm on day 4 so I'll wait until Monday to get an update. I'd really like to have this before classes start on the 22nd.

[istara]

FWIW, mine shipped a full week sooner than expected, and that's after I asked them to delay my shipping date 3-4 days because I was out of town. I assume they're busier now because school is about to start, but hopefully it will still ship early.