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What Kind Of Computer To Bring To College?
Elfan writes "We've discussed laptops in education before and the importance of condoms and lockpicks. However, since its not to early to think about the Fall semester for incoming freshman, I was wondering what electronic devices people found most useful for college now. How do you keep yourself organized, a PDA of some sort or an old-fashioned calendar? What to take notes with, pencil and paper? Laptop? Palm pilot? Tape recorder? Or just too cool to take notes like in high school? One laptop for everything, with a docking station back in the dorm perhaps, or just a desktop? Both? All of this is made more complicated, of course, by the lack of funds most college students enjoy."
I've used this for four years and can take notes about 4 times as fast as those using pen and paper. It's nice to be able to pay attention and not worry about getting behind in my notes. While I'm using an old Palm Vx with the Palm foldable keyboard, there are infrared keyboards now available, as well as the kind that just roll up. At any rate, it sure beats getting a cramped hand and fits easily in your backpack. Very few people carry full laptops because they're just too big and professors may think you're playing around. I've seen people have their laptops shut, but I've never had any negative experience other than the few looks on the first day of class.
Do not bring laptops because they will be 'lifted.' Bring a big ugly honking computer. as long as it has a Ethernet connection, you wont need to move it. Strap it to some 45lb weights or something. if their going to steal it, make them disassemble it.
:D
You should not need a palm pilot or the like because your schedule will be the same for 3-4 months straight. If you cant remember to get to class, then you should drop out
Except that a computer is a necessity for most. I know it is at my college.
OT: It's such a necessity that we are required to purchase a laptop. To answer the question of the original post, all students buy the same laptop through the school
I strongly reccomend a desktop.
While laptop thefts aren't a horribly common thing, college freshmen brainfarts (tm) are. I say this while enjoying my first year standing. However, having spent a great deal of time with small office/home office/home-use computer consultants, I can say that laptop theft is *much* higher first year, than other years combined. (Non-scientific data gathering, to be sure).
Use common sense: If you make it portable, it is more likely to get stolen. It will also be more convienent, and probably better used. In my experience though, a desktop will be just as useful. If you need a computer on the other side of campus, you can probably find one to use.
Disclaimer, I go to RIT, all comments should be taken as though they are from someone who goes to school at an Institute of Technology
I assert that my comment is only my opinion, not that of any employer, past, present or future.
Although I considered buying a laptop many, many times (mostly because I type so much faster than I can write by hand), I ended up sticking with old fashioned pen-and-paper. The main reason is the fact that I live off campus and commute to NYU from Brooklyn - I'm already carrying an entire day's worth of textbooks when I leave my apartment in the morning, and the added weight of a laptop would only add to the back problems I've already started to develop.
At NYU (and most schools), students are given the standard smallish chunk of web space on a university server, which I used to store papers in progress and other files I'd need both from home and from school - that way, I could still work on whatever I needed to from a lab between classes without having to lug around a second machine.
There's a healthy percentage of laptop users around NYU, but I'd say the majority are still sticking with notebooks. PDAs, however, are absolutely everywhere.
2. No palm - use your head.
I (physics undergrad) use a biro and a pad of budget paper for notetaking.
My computer is a big, completely unportable hunk of steel. It suits me fine. Laptops are useful for group work on campus though - it allows you to create an ad-hoc office anywhere. If funds permitted, I would like a laptop too, but my geekness demands that my computer be built with my own two hands.
Here is the important part - I have two friends, one with a Clie, and one with an iPaq. They don't use them. They were carried around for around a month, and then ditched. They use them in their rooms for reading documents in bed. I save money, using xpdf instead :-)
I got one of these in my second term at university and it really is a lifesaver. My 12" iBook is small enough to fit into a standard satchel and is light enough to carry around everywhere I need to take it (especially when much of my time is spent in the central library, particularly with exams coming up).
:)
My reasons for choosing the iBook over a PC laptop were various. There's the gorgeousness factor which is just hard to resist. More seriously though, Mac OS X is just a dream to run, and once you've got used to your iBook waking from sleep in about 2 seconds, you can't help but feel for those poor PC laptop owners. The 4 hour battery life is also very useful for studying out in the gardens.
Desktop PCs are a real PITA at university since you will inevitably end up taking handwritten notes, and if you're writing is anything like mine, they'll be redundant by the end of the year. They're also a great pain to carry up and down stairs (inevitable).
As for PDAs, I've certainly not felt the need for one since most of my contacts come in through e-mail and I'm near my laptop to check my calendar most of the time. That might just be the nature of our university network though...
Get yourself an iBook!
Choosing a computer depends on what kind of services your school provides.
My college (HMC) has deployed a great 802.11b wireless network in the dorms, academics (classrooms, labs, offices), and in most of the common areas. If a freshman asked me what kind of computer to bring to HMC, I'd say a laptop. You can escape your room without leaving your email.
As far as Windows vs. Mac vs. Linux, I guess if you have to ask yourself how comfortable you are with computers and what you will be expected to do with your computer. If you are going to be writing a lot of papers and turning in documents electronically, Windows will be critical to run Microsoft Word. Frankly, AbiWord and WINE may be alright alternatives but when the deadlines come a barkin' things need to just work.
However, if your college has a large Mac infrastructure (Reed, Dartmouth, etc) then a Mac laptop will probably be more appropriate. Here at Mudd they're making a switch over to Windows ActiveDirectory for application distribution, logging into the network, and file servers. Things will still work with the Mac but the IT dept. has other things on its mind right now.
If I had it to do all over again I would not buy an old PC desktop from an eBay auction and instead spend a few hundred more on an Apple iBook. The size, reliability, and features of a Mac laptop are very attractive and price competitive.
As a professor, I think I maybe had about 2 students using something electronic to take notes in class for the last two years (out of maybe 300 students total). One had a laptop, and one a Palm with folding keyboard. These were actually both students I had the year before last. I teach in the humanities, so I probably have fewer students who are really excited about computers than faculty members in other fields. I have to say that I wish students would stick to paper and pen, or at least find quieter keyboards; I could very distinctly hear the students in question typing, and it was sort of distracting. Although if a few tap-tap noises are the biggest problem I have to face in the next school year, I'll count myself lucky! I'd be satisfied if I could just get people to remember to turn off their cell phones.
This post is dedicated to all of those
Hey, That guy just stole my comment.
But really an iBook with an Airport card is a recipe for success. The aforementioned battery life is excellent. And personal experience has proven to me that a mac is less likely than a PC to implode while you type a paper.
No - I am not Ellen Feiss.
PDAs are pretty tough to take notes on in my experience - plus you'd look like a collosal tool. Pen and paper do just fine for note taking. There's something to be said for actually writing the words and the effect this has on retention.
A publicly traded company exists solely to make profits for shareholders.
NT/2000/XP profiles at most schools will have private My Documents folders associated with them.
I found them very useful, mostly because I didn't have to buy a printer. I could just print assignments in the lab before class, accessing the documents from my ubiquitous My Docs folder.
As I will be going to college as a freshman in the fall, I just recently made this same choice. I talked to people that I know are in college now and the result was almost always the same. I was told to get a desktop. Students said that a desktop gives you more bang for your buck and its not easy to steal. I've heard that the only time you really need a laptop is if you commute a lot, either from college to home every weekend or just to college everyday. Most colleges have computers anywhere that you really need them (ie: library, labs, etc.) Also, one of the professors at the university I will be attending in the fall said that hardly any students use laptops to take notes with. Well, I said that I just made this decision, and I think I made a wise one. I ended up getting an Alienware desktop. I just came less than a week ago and I love the thing. Sure it might be a pain to lug to the dorm, but I think its well worth it. Go desktop and I'm sure you won't look back. A laptop might seem cooler or whatever, but even people with laptops said they would get a desktop if they could make the choice over.
SIGFAULT
If I were back in skool, I'd be looking at the Tablet PCs, especially the convertible ones.
:) I thought that the Newton with keyboard would provide the same benefits, but it was just too damn slow to switch from text to doodle mode.
I'd think that the option to use a keyboard for text, but also be able to draw diagrams and equations on the screen would be a great combination.
This is just a guess, since I've yet to try one yet
jonathan
I recently got one for just this purpose. I happen to be cursed with dysgraphia due to motor incoordination and thus any handwritten notes are apt to be illegible a week later. Be sure to get the 256 MB RAM though. Small, long battery life, and dirt cheap, especially on educational discount. I didn't go for the 802.11b because I think I can save my battery by just using Ethernet (The thing comes with gigabit so you can use those at full speed if you run into them). And besides, I have 802.11a at home and would have to use Ethernet anyway.
I took notes with old fashioned paper and pencil. I recorded my lectures on minidisc. I wrote my papers on an iBook.
:)
...
... and I'm stil using my laptop and minidisc recorder after several years, so I think I'm getting my money's worth.
All things considered, a computer is necessary. One could use one of the provided computer labs, however, the convenience and freedom of having your own computer (particularly with a scientific course of study) is extremely advantageous.
I choose an iBook because laptops are frickin' convenient (writing your papers in the library, and being able to take your laptop to study sessions is very handy), and because I've had good experiences with Mac hardware. I've studied in three different countries, all of which have Apple support, and all of which honor Apple warranties. iBooks are also reasonably durable, and they're great to self-decorate.
The minidisc recorder was also a good choice -- tape is nice, but with a single minidisk you can store a week's worth of lectures and tutorials for one class (w/ MDLP), and set break points for important information. Small. Convenient. Efficient. Not too terribly expensive.
I've never had success with note taking on a laptop, so I had good ol' paper and pencil. I can type faster than I can write, for sure, but when the professor starts drawing diagrams
All things considered, I spent under $2000 on my setup, and it worked great
Personally, I'm looking forward to the development of the tablet-based platform. It's everything in one -- computer, audio recorder, and note pad. I'd like to see them a bit less expensive, and a bit more rugged before I'd recommend 'em to anyone.
I think diffrent combinations work for differnt people....
If you have a laptop, I would invest in a wireless card and move from there (maybe get a bigger hard drive and 2 extra batteries).
If you have only a desktop do what I did (that whole 1 semester) was I had a tape recorder that I used to record the class while I took notes. Then back home I would transcribe my notes onto my computer (no laptop yet) while listening to the tape and inputing any stuff I missed, I would then print up my notes and place them in that classes binder. I know it sounds like a lot but I passed my classes so I must have been doing something right.
I think a combination of technology and old-fashion know how works best. Most people have a tendency to remember what they write, then plus if you also type that up, AND relisten to it via a recording then you really don't have an excuse for missing something.
Just my $0.02 though
I bought a run of the mill desktop and just used this when I was at school. It's great - you take notes on a normal notepad which sits over the digitizer and it digitizes your writing and stores it (it can hold up to 50 pages if memory serves) for tranferring to your laptop/desktop later.
It takes AAAA but they last for months. The pen seemed heavy at first but, after a while, it was really comfortable to the point that I used it even when I wasn't using the pad.
It comes with IBM handwriting recognition (the name escapes me now). The recognition can be a little flaky but it allows you to correct its mistakes and I found it helped me because it made me go back through my notes after class - a little less "in one ear and out the other". I cant find a direct link but here is Cross' main site: htp://www.cross.com
I've tried this pretty much every way possible. I got a Palm V as a graduation gift and while it's very helpful it isn't essential and I don't take notes on it. Back in high school I was part of a program for a semester where they assigned students laptops (decrepit Macs of some sort... mine started physically shredding floppies) and while it was good for some classes (Latin Poetry where we were doing mainly translation) it utterly failed for almost everything else. The main problem is that no matter how fast you type you won't be able to get equations, diagrams and so forth down fast enough without a tablet pc or something else. I'm currently a senior heading back for one final year to complete degrees in biology and microbiology along with a computer science minor and while I view it as more or less essential to have a good computer (be it laptop or desktop) at home or to carry onto campus if you live off-campus direct classroom applications and especially notes are of very limited value.
As far as taking notes in class, nothing beats loose-leaf graph paper and 3-ring binders. Taking notes on a PDA is all but impossible (especially for profs that blast through information in lecture). Laptop PCs are annoying for notetaking as well -- if not for you, than for other students. But depending on the class, that option may work. But I've yet to see an electonic solution to getting diagrams, graphs, equations, etc. down well. Maybe a Tablet PC, would work for this, but I've never used one, so I can't say. Also, remember that binders fit nicely on shelves later -- good for archiving notes from classes which will come in handy later in advanced coursework.
In summary, I'd recommend the following:
Your brain will hold more when you've been forced to process things in *two* areas of your head one wile listening and the other when writing it down.
Typing is much to linear for actuall notes, unless you have a mindmapper running and are top-notch at operating it.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
The TI calculator is all you need. I personally like my TI92 because it features a semi-featured keyboard, I can hook it up to a computer and link it, also don't forget the games.. Frogger and Tetris are a much better alternative to Partial Differential Equations.
About recording a class on tape: make sure you always get permission. I always allow this, but I like to be told. I've seen a professor pull a tape out of a student's cassette before, because the student was recording without obtaining consent. Needless to say, that's not a good way to make a first impression in college.
Apart from all this, the best notes I've ever seen were written into a notebook by people who first listened to the material, and only wrote things once down once they understood them (and asked questions when they didn't).
Touched enter key, sorry.
/. via letters!!!) and at writing, assembling and 'retouching' worked-over text (or layout for that matter).
Allthough that actually emphasises what I'm just saying: Keyboards and screen suck at emulating paper. They're a whole different thing with different advantages and disadvantages alltogether.
The computer is unmatchable at written dialog (email, slashdot, you name it (imagine
BUT: The computer *sux* at notes!
Notes you *allways* do on paper.
For the lectures and courses get yourself a top-quality pen and notepad (with high-quality paper and hardcover) so that it's fun writing on. That's what I allways do. I really dig cool pens in all kinds of flavors and with some real high-tech on them too. Spare no money when getting a cool notepad/book, you'll give extra effort to write in a way that you'll be able to read 10 years from now.
And trust me: You can spend a lot on cool Paper and Pens. But it still will be a lot cheaper and more hassle free than a comp.
If you want a 'puter for the gadgets sake, then get whatever you fancy. But you might want to keep an eye on battery-time, so I sugggest you get yourself a transmeta. If it really *has* to be a computer, that is.
The Fujitsu-Siemens Lifebook P with modular and power pack has 16 hrs. of real offline power. It's the only PC I'd consider for *real* working off the powergrid. Everything else is a wast of money, imho. Unless you've got an old, cheapo P150 Laptop somewhere...
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
The speed of writing on a PDA depends on a lot of things. First of all Grafitti sucks, which is why I don't use it. I found an app called TealScript which allows you to train graffiti to how YOU write. It even keeps stats on how fast you write, my record was 126 average strokes per minute. You can find it at www.tealpoint.com and its around $15-20. You can even customize those special characters if you want. It took me about a month to train the software to my current maximum efficiency.
The second most important factor is the CPU speed of the PDA. My first PDA was a Kyocera Smartphone 6035. It had a 20Mhz CPU. My second and present PDA is the Kyocera 7135 with a 33Mhz CPU (www.kyocerasmartphone.com). May not seem like much of a difference but it is night and day. The 7135 misses far less strokes than my previous PDA did. This increases my accuracy rate. And since PalmOS PDA's go all the way up to 400Mhz I don't think we'll have this speed recognition issue ever again.
I guess since my PDA is also my cell phone it is more handy since I always have it on me. I jot down whatever I need to in the memo pad or address book as needed. And I use the free app ReDo for repeating ToDo items.
Hope this helps.
Mac OS X and Windows XP working side by side to fight back the night.
What kind of nazi university do you teach at? I have *never* taken paper notes in three years and have *never* been asked to put the laptop away. Granted, it is a quiet keyboard, but the concept of technology discrimination is absurd. Furthermore, to ask a student for a tape recording from class that he/she made is illegal at best and harassment at worst. I wouldn't be surprised if you were sued!
The problem is that although your keyboard may be quiet most aren't. I know that as a student I never would have tolerated someone in the classroom making noise that interferes with my ability to learn. I don't care if its a keyboard or someone talking: if you are making noise in the classroom you are being rude and should expect to be asked to leave.
Additionally it is the student recording the class that may be doing something illegal, not the teacher confiscating their tape. Keep in mind that it is not legal to make unauthorized recordings of someone's work be it music, a movie or a lecture. I appreciate that some geeks can't get that through their heads but don't for a minute think you can sue someone for protecting their own rights.
On my girlfriend's campus they've been trying to roll out a program where students buy laptops through the IT department. They've put up a fairly extensive WiFi network, but every time they audit the program (mostly through access point usage) they're finding utilization is way below expectations. They finally asked some of the students why they weren't bringing the laptops to class, going to the library with them, and all the things they expected. Almost every one responded that the laptops were just too heavy to lug around for most of the day, when lab machines available around campus. Integrating technology into schools is great, but it has to be usable first. In this case, portability is the first step toward useability.
// Dumps core here
Sorry, but I have to disagree with the slant against video games, or at least against video games combined with education.
:o)
When I have that evil performance review or testing document to write, and I've got writer's block, and I'm about to kick my screen in because Word wants to "think" for me for the 302nd time, a good session with Sonic is just the thing. Platformers aren't cutting it that day? No problem. Break out SOE, or play some GTA3 and run over people.
Most any decent emulator (MAME, dgen, gens, ePSXe) can work on older hardware. Besides, if folks took your advice to its logical conclusion, they'd write their own emulator so they can play Scorched Earth or Jill of the Jungle anyway.
I think the trick to staying sane, having fun AND passing all your classes is moderation.
So bring the ghetto laptop that doesn't cost a lot, yet runs anything. Don't make the mistake of leaving the PS2 or GC at home, tho. You will regret it.
--
Me spell chucker work grate. Need grandma chicken.
I go to San Jose State University as a Computer Engineering Major and live on campus. Before I left for school I picked up an iBook. With me to school I brought my desktop, and all my PC crap as well as my Hand Spring Visor (with 4.0 student). Maybe its just me being lazy but I found it much much easier to take notes with pen and paper than the ibook, and I found it much easier to record all of my assigments in the back of the notebook (opposite direction as normal) than in the handspring. If you want to record classes on your laptop I sugest bringing an external Microphone because otherwise you get a lot of great sounding key-clicks but not much of your class. While I've never been asked to turn off my laptop when I do use it the proffessors are lest trustworthy of the few people who have laptops, because they tend to believe that you're playing games or chatting on AIM/posting to slashdot. If you're going to be an Engineering Major I strongly suggest picking up a PC laptop so you can actually run stuff like Matlab and AutoCAD. The advantage to having a wireless enabled laptop mac or PC is that you can go to the library, student union, study area or just about anywhere and work on your 10 page english paper or engineering report.
Just my 2 cents...
-sonic