Laptops at university (1 Viewer)

[mat-thew]

I am looking at getting a laptop for university this year. I plan to take it into lectures and I am wondering what size laptops people have, especially what people find to be too big.

Also, please post any other problems you have with laptops at university.

EDIT: Could you also mention how/if certain brands perform better than others in terms of practicality at university

 

[Njn]

I would say 15" at a maximum if you want portability. imo, if you just wanted to use it for word processing and surfing the web, while carrying it around alot, probably get a 13", although I've heard of some people having trouble with multiple windows at once with sizes lower than this. Don't get a 17", these usually weigh in excess of 3kg, especially the higher end ones.

 

[Timbo650]

The biggest problem with laptops at university is that you cannot leave it unattended for s second or somebody will steal it.

That and how many rooms in many unis do not have easy access to power points.

 

[Njn]

Also, make sure the laptop that you buy actually will last you for the day (perhaps 3-4 hours) if you don't have a constant power supply. Most of the smaller and cheaper ones do pretty alright at this, but there are some high-end power-sucking gaming laptops that tend to run out of power in around and under 2 hours, so watch out for these.

 

[astroe]

Is having a large laptop a big problem?
The one I have has a 16" screen and is kinda heavy. LOL.

Will it be so much of a problem I will be better off buying a new laptop?
Oh, and do you have to like bring it everyday or something?

 

[Njn]

Is having a large laptop a big problem?
The one I have has a 16" screen and is kinda heavy. LOL.

Will it be so much of a problem I will be better off buying a new laptop?
Oh, and do you have to like bring it everyday or something?

No-one says you have to bring a laptop. Since it's your laptop, you'll probably be able to tell for yourself if it's too heavy for you to bring around. That being said, laptops are fairly expensive, so unless yours is ancient or it's going to break your back, I'd say no.

 

[melsc]

Its a personal preference but most people who have laptops bring something between 13-15 inches or they bring a net book. The main issues any bigger would pose is 1. fitting in your backpack (and trust me it hurts less when you bring it in a back pack rather than a sholder bag) and 2. the weight. I'd try and aim for 3kg or less. Mine is 14.1inch about 2.5-3kg. That said my b/f has like a 17inch laptop and it doesnt bother him, but each to their own.

Also power can be an issue esp at older uni's we often fight over powerpoints at MQ lol

 

[philphie]

i have a spirax lecture book. when i have it horizontally and open it, it's exactly like a laptop but lighter but it only has MS word and paint

 

[astroe]

No-one says you have to bring a laptop. Since it's your laptop, you'll probably be able to tell for yourself if it's too heavy for you to bring around. That being said, laptops are fairly expensive, so unless yours is ancient or it's going to break your back, I'd say no.

Aw, mine's fairly new.
I picked higher specs over portability.

Would you look like a douche if you carried a separate laptop bag or something? - as opposed to stuffing it into your backpack.

But if we do bring it, will it be more useful in lectures or tutes or only for your own study?

Hm, don't know why I'm overly-worrying about it though.
And this powerpoint war seems concerning.

 

[Njn]

i have a spirax lecture book. when i have it horizontally and open it, it's exactly like a laptop but lighter but it only has MS word and paint

ahahah repped

Aw, mine's fairly new.
I picked higher specs over portability.

Would you look like a douche if you carried a separate laptop bag or something? - as opposed to stuffing it into your backpack.

But if we do bring it, will it be more useful in lectures or tutes or only for your own study?

Hm, don't know why I'm overly-worrying about it though.
And this powerpoint war seems concerning.

I'm pretty sure the shoulder bags look a bit like manbags. If you don't mind that look, then I'm sure it'd be fine. Or else you could just use a backpack as mel suggested.

Iunno bout powerpoints in other unis, but UNSW has way too many in their library.

 

[melsc]

Would you look like a douche if you carried a separate laptop bag or something? - as opposed to stuffing it into your backpack.

But if we do bring it, will it be more useful in lectures or tutes or only for your own study?

Hm, don't know why I'm overly-worrying about it though.
And this powerpoint war seems concerning.

You might look a bit douchey but trust me it hurts to carry it that way, get a nice backpack that either has a section for it or it will at least fit in. Makes it seem a lot less heavy.

I use it for lectures and study because 1.my handwriting is terrible and 2. I have the internet and all my notes at my disposal!

The library at MQ has lots of powerpoints...the lecture rooms and tute rooms (at least the older ones dont have many!)

 

[Aquawhite]

You might look a bit douchey but trust me it hurts to carry it that way, get a nice backpack that either has a section for it or it will at least fit in. Makes it seem a lot less heavy.

I use it for lectures and study because 1.my handwriting is terrible and 2. I have the internet and all my notes at my disposal!

The library at MQ has lots of powerpoints...the lecture rooms and tute rooms (at least the older ones dont have many!)

Would you say a netbook is an excellent suggestion for a 'laptop' in university... particularly for the lectures and study? If so, it just means I can keep on using the one I currently have

 

[rx34]

I have a pink sony vaio. Lol, I'm not going to bring it to uni. I prefer to use the uni's computers so I don't get distracted. Anyway, I'm going to get a numeric laptop lock from ebay now for college.

 

[melsc]

Would you say a netbook is an excellent suggestion for a 'laptop' in university... particularly for the lectures and study? If so, it just means I can keep on using the one I currently have

Yeah they have good battery life and as long as you find it ok to type on the go for it. I didn't go a net book because we don't have a desktop anymore so I needed something I can use at home for my itunes, photos etc plus uni, so I compromised for a 3kg 14.1 inch Sony Vaio...its preeeety

 

[Andi0390]

I had the laptop dilemma earlier this year. I would go to my lectures with my books and take notes. Then whenever I needed my notes they would seem to be elsewhere, and i'd doodle too much on pages, and forget a book sometimes and write in another and couldn't read my writing. I had a 14.1inch (actually I still have it, i'm on it right now) and I used to find it was too big and bulky for me.

So i bought a little tiny 10.1 (?) inch I think. Its really light and has four hours battery life and cost around $500 I think. Its not really that much in the long run. The specs are far from great but I use it as a glorified typewriter. All my notes end up in the same place and whenever I need them they are there. Also, I can print out paper copy of my notes to scribble on, or for friends. When I go home I do my essays on the big one (although it might not seem big to some) and it all works out well.

Also, I got my little one with a flash memory thing instead of mechanical, so I drop it lots (accidents) and its fine.

While this system works for me I still often prefer the paper option. If I had to choose between my larger laptop and paper I would go paper. My little one is smaller than most books people write in and just slips into my messenger bag. If it was larger I wouldn't bother.

If you do look at buying a little one, try and get the biggest keyboards you can. Asus has cheap ones but their keyboards are tiny.

 

[Lailaa]

Whats easier then - laptop for notes or just taking notes by hand? What is more popular?

 

[Aquawhite]

Whats easier then - laptop for notes or just taking notes by hand? What is more popular?

I like a good combination actually... I can type a lot faster than I can write (so should any decent computer user) so I will choose my netbook over writing preferably.

 

[astroe]

Are there certain subjects where laptops are a no-no?
Like the majority of people writing or something.

I wouldn't want to the only one tapping away in a whole lecture room of scribblers! D:
Besides, my laptop keyboard is pretty loud. Stupid cheap design.

 

[babikakez]

i have a spirax lecture book. when i have it horizontally and open it, it's exactly like a laptop but lighter but it only has MS word and paint

LOL. I must have repped you for something before coz I can't rep you for that post

I had the laptop dilemma earlier this year. I would go to my lectures with my books and take notes. Then whenever I needed my notes they would seem to be elsewhere, and i'd doodle too much on pages, and forget a book sometimes and write in another and couldn't read my writing. I had a 14.1inch (actually I still have it, i'm on it right now) and I used to find it was too big and bulky for me.

So i bought a little tiny 10.1 (?) inch I think. Its really light and has four hours battery life and cost around $500 I think. Its not really that much in the long run. The specs are far from great but I use it as a glorified typewriter. All my notes end up in the same place and whenever I need them they are there. Also, I can print out paper copy of my notes to scribble on, or for friends. When I go home I do my essays on the big one (although it might not seem big to some) and it all works out well.

Also, I got my little one with a flash memory thing instead of mechanical, so I drop it lots (accidents) and its fine.

While this system works for me I still often prefer the paper option. If I had to choose between my larger laptop and paper I would go paper. My little one is smaller than most books people write in and just slips into my messenger bag. If it was larger I wouldn't bother.

If you do look at buying a little one, try and get the biggest keyboards you can. Asus has cheap ones but their keyboards are tiny.

I have pretty much the same. I have a bigger 16 inch laptop that I use at home, and then an 11 inch netbook for uni. Its got pretty much a full size keyboard, and it doesn't take that long to get used to the different placings for punctuation keys. Battery is around 4-5 hours, but I generally have short uni days so I don't even take the charger with me.

But yeah, I wouldn't use it for every lecture. Last semester I found it very good for Arts subjects, but for Economics it was heaps easier to write on the printed slides.

 

[Aquawhite]

Since I want to get into Civil Engineering, I imagine there would be a lot of programs for simulations and what not... I wonder if I'd need a decent laptop or good PC at home. I should ask around XD