The Ideal Law School Laptop Forum

[sullidop]

If I got a macbook, and wanted to have a second monitor and external keyboard at my desk -

a) Can I got a non-mac Monitor and external keyboard? would it be fairly easy/"plug and play"

b) do I need a docking station of any kind?

A) Yes
B) No

http://www.cinemaview.com/

[Rsrcht]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834220519

Just bought that one. I've been looking around for a while and that one has freaking amazing specs for only $899.99. P8600 processor, 4GB RAM, 320GB 7200 RPM hard drive, 1GB video card, and it even comes with an accidental damage warranty stock! Plus only 14" so it's light and portable!

Pretty sure that this IS the ideal law school laptop.

That seems like a great setup, how is the Asus brand? I'm not too familiar with it.

Ultimately, I think my decision will be a matchup of Lenovo vs. Mac, but I will look at other systems as well.

The 14" Asus laptops seem pretty high-powered, but are housed in a rather large laptop case.
Asus is pretty decent. I purchased a 13.3" from the same website - it has more bling than my 3 year old Dell inspiron. With the high-powered vid card and cpu, you are talking about 2-3 hours of battery life on these setups, which isn't very long.

[Rsrcht]

This website is great for comparing video card benchmark tests to see what is what in a laptop. The same test must be used if one video card is compared with another. Most mainstream laptop retailers are including the approximately the same class of video card they were 3 years ago, when I purchased a dell with an ATI x1400 video card.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-ATI-Mo ... 885.0.html

[Smoyf]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834220519

Just bought that one. I've been looking around for a while and that one has freaking amazing specs for only $899.99. P8600 processor, 4GB RAM, 320GB 7200 RPM hard drive, 1GB video card, and it even comes with an accidental damage warranty stock! Plus only 14" so it's light and portable!

Pretty sure that this IS the ideal law school laptop.

That seems like a great setup, how is the Asus brand? I'm not too familiar with it.

Ultimately, I think my decision will be a matchup of Lenovo vs. Mac, but I will look at other systems as well.

The 14" Asus laptops seem pretty high-powered, but are housed in a rather large laptop case.
Asus is pretty decent. I purchased a 13.3" from the same website - it has more bling than my 3 year old Dell inspiron. With the high-powered vid card and cpu, you are talking about 2-3 hours of battery life on these setups, which isn't very long.

The video card has HybridPower, which is a technique to choose between the integrated and dedicated graphics core, if performance or battery runtime is needed.

[superflush]

If I got a macbook, and wanted to have a second monitor and external keyboard at my desk -

a) Can I got a non-mac Monitor and external keyboard? would it be fairly easy/"plug and play"

I believe so. You might need an adapter for Mini Display Port (you likely will need one).
Keyboard should be fine, but on Logitech's site they have Mac compatibility signs next to certain keyboards, so I would look for that.

[hoffb86]

If I got a macbook, and wanted to have a second monitor and external keyboard at my desk -

a) Can I got a non-mac Monitor and external keyboard? would it be fairly easy/"plug and play"

I believe so. You might need an adapter for Mini Display Port (you likely will need one).
Keyboard should be fine, but on Logitech's site they have Mac compatibility signs next to certain keyboards, so I would look for that.

thanks to you and sullidop for your responses (and anyone I missed)

[dood]

...

[Smoyf]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834220519

Just bought that one. I've been looking around for a while and that one has freaking amazing specs for only $899.99. P8600 processor, 4GB RAM, 320GB 7200 RPM hard drive, 1GB video card, and it even comes with an accidental damage warranty stock! Plus only 14" so it's light and portable!

Pretty sure that this IS the ideal law school laptop.

That seems like a great setup, how is the Asus brand? I'm not too familiar with it.

Ultimately, I think my decision will be a matchup of Lenovo vs. Mac, but I will look at other systems as well.

Asus makes very good laptops and their warranty plans are great too. Usually you have to pay around 100 bucks for a 1 year accidental damage warranty and they offer it free. From what I have seen, generally anything Asus makes is high quality. I have an Asus video card and an Asus monitor that work great and provided great bang for the buck. From what I see the laptops also share the same aspect of being high quality but not super expensive. Try to find a laptop with similar specs to that one of a different brand and see how much it would cost you.

[Anhimal]

For those of you that got lenovos, does it usually take up to the estimated shipping date for it to ship? It's been over a week and it still says "in process" when I check on the status.

[vut]

For those of you that got lenovos, does it usually take up to the estimated shipping date for it to ship? It's been over a week and it still says "in process" when I check on the status.

My order just shipped out today (6/3) even though the estimated shipping date was 6/15. I think how long before it ships out depends on the model since they are pseudo custom-built. That means Lenovo usually tries to pool up as many similar orders as possible before sending them to the factory.

[littleboyblue]

i have an old pc but a fairly new printer (HP). if i get a macbook will it be compatible with my HP printer?

[Skadden Stairs]

Have we reached a consensus on the best netbook?

I'm thinking of waiting for the S12 to come out in august...

[vut]

i have an old pc but a fairly new printer (HP). if i get a macbook will it be compatible with my HP printer?

Although Apple provides a lot of support for big band products, there's no way of knowing for sure if yours is Mac compatible if you don't provide the printer's model number.

[superflush]

Have we reached a consensus on the best netbook?

I'm thinking of waiting for the S12 to come out in august...

Whatever you can type best on, (and for me) whatever doesn't have a glossy screen.
Easy-access RAM slot & Bluetooth are also a must.

[superflush]

Have we reached a consensus on the best netbook?

I'm thinking of waiting for the S12 to come out in august...

People here seemed to be a fan of the MSI Wind. I got one, on it's way. *shrug*

I would very much recommend my Samsung NC10
I haven't played with the MSIs, so I don't know about there keyboard. I was looking into the MSI Wind U123 before, but the fact that there is no Bluetooth, and that upgrading the RAM voids the warranty is a dealbreaker.

[Skadden Stairs]

http://gizmodo.com/5268833/lenovo-s12-i ... -under-500

http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/05/25/be ... ay-decent/

No one?

[crystalhawkeye]

For those of you that got lenovos, does it usually take up to the estimated shipping date for it to ship? It's been over a week and it still says "in process" when I check on the status.

My order just shipped out today (6/3) even though the estimated shipping date was 6/15. I think how long before it ships out depends on the model since they are pseudo custom-built. That means Lenovo usually tries to pool up as many similar orders as possible before sending them to the factory.

Mine also shipped today after estimating 13 days to do so from Memorial Day. So just about right on schedule.

[jetlagz28]

Windows 7 has been given an October release date and Vista users will get a very affordable upgrade option. If you buy a computer now, you can upgrade in the fall for cheap. Vista won't be around for much longer.

[Anhimal]

For those of you that got lenovos, does it usually take up to the estimated shipping date for it to ship? It's been over a week and it still says "in process" when I check on the status.

My order just shipped out today (6/3) even though the estimated shipping date was 6/15. I think how long before it ships out depends on the model since they are pseudo custom-built. That means Lenovo usually tries to pool up as many similar orders as possible before sending them to the factory.

Mine also shipped today after estimating 13 days to do so from Memorial Day. So just about right on schedule.

Yeah everyone has been saying it usually ships out before the shipping date. Tomorrow is officially past the shipping date so I'll just give them a ring considering Memorial Day was 05/31 and yours shipped out 4 days later! Lucky...

[Detail]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834220519

Just bought that one. I've been looking around for a while and that one has freaking amazing specs for only $899.99. P8600 processor, 4GB RAM, 320GB 7200 RPM hard drive, 1GB video card, and it even comes with an accidental damage warranty stock! Plus only 14" so it's light and portable!

Pretty sure that this IS the ideal law school laptop.

That seems like a great setup, how is the Asus brand? I'm not too familiar with it.

Ultimately, I think my decision will be a matchup of Lenovo vs. Mac, but I will look at other systems as well.

The 14" Asus laptops seem pretty high-powered, but are housed in a rather large laptop case.
Asus is pretty decent. I purchased a 13.3" from the same website - it has more bling than my 3 year old Dell inspiron. With the high-powered vid card and cpu, you are talking about 2-3 hours of battery life on these setups, which isn't very long.

Yea no kidding. Battery life and size are far more important than gaming capabilities. On the linked ASUS you're looking at ~2 hours in normal usage, even in hybrid graphics mode.

I suggest looking at business class notebooks. You can find ones under 4lb with ~6 hours of battery life.

[Smoyf]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834220519

Just bought that one. I've been looking around for a while and that one has freaking amazing specs for only $899.99. P8600 processor, 4GB RAM, 320GB 7200 RPM hard drive, 1GB video card, and it even comes with an accidental damage warranty stock! Plus only 14" so it's light and portable!

Pretty sure that this IS the ideal law school laptop.

That seems like a great setup, how is the Asus brand? I'm not too familiar with it.

Ultimately, I think my decision will be a matchup of Lenovo vs. Mac, but I will look at other systems as well.

The 14" Asus laptops seem pretty high-powered, but are housed in a rather large laptop case.
Asus is pretty decent. I purchased a 13.3" from the same website - it has more bling than my 3 year old Dell inspiron. With the high-powered vid card and cpu, you are talking about 2-3 hours of battery life on these setups, which isn't very long.

Yea no kidding. Battery life and size are far more important than gaming capabilities. On the linked ASUS you're looking at ~2 hours in normal usage, even in hybrid graphics mode.

I suggest looking at business class notebooks. You can find ones under 4lb with ~6 hours of battery life.

at 14" and 5.5 pounds it makes an excellent laptop for taking to class for notes along with being a good desktop replacement. In hybrid mode the battery should last longer than that. At least the reviewers were commenting on it's battery life as a pro.

[superflush]

http://gizmodo.com/5268833/lenovo-s12-i ... -under-500

http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/05/25/be ... ay-decent/

No one?

Probably not, this thread is full of Lenovo-haters.

[matty]

http://gizmodo.com/5268833/lenovo-s12-i ... -under-500

http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/05/25/be ... ay-decent/

No one?

Probably not, this thread is full of Lenovo-haters.

FWIW, I just got my ThinkPad T400 about a week ago and I couldn't be happier. I was all set to immediately install Win7, given all the negative Vista publicity, until I messed around with it and found that I really liked it--WTF is all the complaining about? I also got the 9 cell battery and although I haven't had a chance to fully test the battery life, its safe to say you could take it to class in the morning, take it to the library after class, hibernate it when you aren't using it, and then take it home in the evening without ever having to plug it in. Pretty effin amazing.

[misteranthro]

Windows 7 has been given an October release date and Vista users will get a very affordable upgrade option. If you buy a computer now, you can upgrade in the fall for cheap. Vista won't be around for much longer.

Do you know if the Vista upgrade to Windows 7 will require a full reinstall?

[vut]

Windows 7 has been given an October release date and Vista users will get a very affordable upgrade option. If you buy a computer now, you can upgrade in the fall for cheap. Vista won't be around for much longer.

Do you know if the Vista upgrade to Windows 7 will require a full reinstall?

If it's an upgrade, then a full install won't be necessary as the OS will allow you to migrate your data to Windows 7. Although I would recommend a clean install everytime to avoid complications. It could be a little more expensive but worth it if you can afford it.

FWIW, I just got my ThinkPad T400 about a week ago and I couldn't be happier. I was all set to immediately install Win7, given all the negative Vista publicity, until I messed around with it and found that I really liked it--WTF is all the complaining about? I also got the 9 cell battery and although I haven't had a chance to fully test the battery life, its safe to say you could take it to class in the morning, take it to the library after class, hibernate it when you aren't using it, and then take it home in the evening without ever having to plug it in. Pretty effin amazing.

Good for you. One of the main reasons people complain about Windows Vista is its system requirements, where they want 2006 (Windows XP) hardware to fully run Vista without a hitch. Plus, all the bad press really focused on pre-SP1 Vista, which is why you're starting to see less complaints, as a lot of problems and bugs were fixed with the introduction of the Service pack. Vista is not perfect, but neither is XP. Vista just happens to receive a lot of bad press, partly thanks to those silly Apple commercials. I like them myself, but they're still silly and hugely a distortion of the truth.

By the way, if your T400 has Vista Basic, then you should consider getting the Ultimate version for $65 from Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com/student/discou ... fault.aspx. You can also get Office Ultimate for $60. Unless you're planning on holding out for Windows 7.