Best Law School Laptop for the Money Forum

[ResolutePear]

Going to admit, I wish I'd bought a smaller laptop. The T410 is great until you need to lug it fifteen minutes each way (sometimes uphill).

In the snow?

[JOThompson]

Going to admit, I wish I'd bought a smaller laptop. The T410 is great until you need to lug it fifteen minutes each way (sometimes uphill).

In the snow?

I'm thinking humidity now, but the issue will be more severe when we get ice/snow in Iowa. I suppose the laptop alone isn't so hefty, but when combined with casebooks, supplements, food, etc., it's a bit much.

[ResolutePear]

Going to admit, I wish I'd bought a smaller laptop. The T410 is great until you need to lug it fifteen minutes each way (sometimes uphill).

In the snow?

I'm thinking humidity now, but the issue will be more severe when we get ice/snow in Iowa. I suppose the laptop alone isn't so hefty, but when combined with casebooks, supplements, food, etc., it's a bit much.

Just get the right supplements.

[JOThompson]

Going to admit, I wish I'd bought a smaller laptop. The T410 is great until you need to lug it fifteen minutes each way (sometimes uphill).

In the snow?

I'm thinking humidity now, but the issue will be more severe when we get ice/snow in Iowa. I suppose the laptop alone isn't so hefty, but when combined with casebooks, supplements, food, etc., it's a bit much.

Just get the right supplements.

Loved that cartoon, hate spinach.

[kalvano]

Going to admit, I wish I'd bought a smaller laptop. The T410 is great until you need to lug it fifteen minutes each way (sometimes uphill).

In the snow?

Uphill both ways.

[Duralex]

We walked on our knees to save our shoes.

[Iconoclast]

We walked on our knees to save our shoes.

You had shoes?

[maroonzoon]

There is no magic laptop for everyone or everyone would have the same laptop. You have to assess your own needs, so I will speak from the perspective of someone with 3 years in IT support, and zero tolerance for crap electronics.

Thinkpad all the way if you're a PC person. No other brand comes close to build quality or reliability of hardware components than Thinkpad...and I mean business-class solid thinkpads, not the cheaper, more plasticy offerings Lenovo has. The keyboard is the most comfortably satisfying thing you'll ever type on, Apple included.

If you're an Apple person, obviously you only have about 2 choices, so no real recommendations there.

Don't get a netbook unless you have a desktop to fall back on. Those things are made cheap, and probably not worth typing papers or class notes on.

[skoobily doobily]

Just bought an Asus U43, got a pretty sweet deal, anyone have opinions on this computer or Asus's in general?

[bk1]

Asus's are fairly reliable in my experience with friends who own them (I've never had one).

[kalvano]

My wife has a UL80, it's quite nice.

[maroonzoon]

Just bought an Asus U43, got a pretty sweet deal, anyone have opinions on this computer or Asus's in general?

I bought an Asus for my cousin in Feb, it broke down within 6 months.

[skoobily doobily]

Just bought an Asus U43, got a pretty sweet deal, anyone have opinions on this computer or Asus's in general?

I bought an Asus for my cousin in Feb, it broke down within 6 months.

anecdotes are anecdotes. statistics are statistics:
--ImageRemoved--

I was looking more for how it handled, whether it had anything quirky about it, what features are better/worse than other computer brands.

[ResolutePear]

Just bought an Asus U43, got a pretty sweet deal, anyone have opinions on this computer or Asus's in general?

I bought an Asus for my cousin in Feb, it broke down within 6 months.

anecdotes are anecdotes. statistics are statistics:
--ImageRemoved--

I was looking more for how it handled, whether it had anything quirky about it, what features are better/worse than other computer brands.

Can we stop posting this graph? I swear, this is the 10th time in this topic I've seen this.

[vanish]

I read till about 22 pages in, and noted that nobody talked about the regular Macbook.

at ~$850-900 (with or without the student discount) the just passed over macbook edition (2.24 Ghz, 250 gigs hdd, 2 gigs ram, 5-7 hrs battery life) is a really good deal, IMO. Does anybody have an opinion on this?

And what about the recently updated macbook? ~$950. thoughts?

[03121202698008]

I read till about 22 pages in, and noted that nobody talked about the regular Macbook.

at ~$850-900 (with or without the student discount) the just passed over macbook edition (2.24 Ghz, 250 gigs hdd, 2 gigs ram, 5-7 hrs battery life) is a really good deal, IMO. Does anybody have an opinion on this?

And what about the recently updated macbook? ~$950. thoughts?

The regular Macbook is sufficient for anything you'd need. I'd personally go with the updated one.

[vanish]

I read till about 22 pages in, and noted that nobody talked about the regular Macbook.

at ~$850-900 (with or without the student discount) the just passed over macbook edition (2.24 Ghz, 250 gigs hdd, 2 gigs ram, 5-7 hrs battery life) is a really good deal, IMO. Does anybody have an opinion on this?

And what about the recently updated macbook? ~$950. thoughts?

The regular Macbook is sufficient for anything you'd need. I'd personally go with the updated one.

Yeah, I would also go with the updated one. But from what I've seen, any Asus, Lenovo, or Sony that has comparable specs, size, and battery life has pretty comparable costs. Maybe the macbook is ~50-100 more expensive (at most, from what I've seen). Is there any reason I should believe otherwise? That premium is for looks & ease of servicing (there are apple stores near my school and near my hometown) I think.

[ResolutePear]

MBP's and Thinkpads have been discussed to death in this thread.

The same logic that applies to a macbook pro applies to a macbook.

/beatingdeadhorse

[kalvano]

I'm going to start recommending Biohazard or Velocity Micro just to be different.

[holdencaulfield]

There is no magic laptop for everyone or everyone would have the same laptop. You have to assess your own needs, so I will speak from the perspective of someone with 3 years in IT support, and zero tolerance for crap electronics.

Thinkpad all the way if you're a PC person. No other brand comes close to build quality or reliability of hardware components than Thinkpad...and I mean business-class solid thinkpads, not the cheaper, more plasticy offerings Lenovo has. The keyboard is the most comfortably satisfying thing you'll ever type on, Apple included.

If you're an Apple person, obviously you only have about 2 choices, so no real recommendations there.

Don't get a netbook unless you have a desktop to fall back on. Those things are made cheap, and probably not worth typing papers or class notes on.

I also say stay away from netbooks. Spending money sucks, but I have yet to regret having spent a few bucks extra to get the exact size & features I wanted. I'd go for something with a 13" screen and 2-4 gigs of ram. If you get a PC, Windows 7 is a must. I upgraded last year, and it is significantly faster than Vista (even better than xp).

[Chris_cpb]

Could someone possibly direct me to X200s or T400 discussion ITT. Looking to possibly buy refurbished with 1+ year mf. warranty. I've seen reasonable prices on eBay and I need to make a pretty quick purchase.

[03121202698008]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=site%3Atop-law-sch ... aptop+x200

Try this

[adameus]

am I stupid to buy a laptop in a store? I am living in a hotel right now until sep 1 when I can move into my apartment but I need my laptop before then.

[ResolutePear]

am I stupid to buy a laptop in a store? I am living in a hotel right now until sep 1 when I can move into my apartment but I need my laptop before then.

If you *MUST* have it today without fail, then yeah. You're going to pay a premium(taxes + "store overhead"), though.

If you can wait a couple days, sign up for Amazon Prime(Free year for students with a .edu email) and get a laptop through Amazon, pay the 4 bucks and get it overnight. Remember, look to make sure that there are no lead times and it says, "ships from Amazon". Amazon's pretty good when it comes to shipping.

[03121202698008]

am I stupid to buy a laptop in a store? I am living in a hotel right now until sep 1 when I can move into my apartment but I need my laptop before then.

Most hotels will receive packages for you. Ask at the desk.