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To laptop or not to laptop. That is the question

marymoon Posted:

To laptop or not to laptop. That is the question

So I've never owned a laptop before, but I think it would be great to have one for going back to school, that way I can get work done at school in between classes, here at home and at FH's house which is a perfect halfway point between here and school.
My desktop is about 5 years old. Thanks to an XP upgrade, Office XP and a RAM upgrade it still serves my purposes very well. When I bought it I spent a fortune and it's realy becoming worthwhile because it still runs any game that comes out on the market, etc. I just feel that a laptop would make my life so much easier for school. Of course I guess my working at several locatons could be accomplished with a flash drive and a lot of patience, but even at home with the laptop I can work outside, in the itchen, etc. In my room, my desk is in this little tiny part of the room and it's stifling, so more and more I just want to get out of here. I was thinking it might be ok to buy a laptop since I've had this desktop for 5 years, and an accepable time has passed. But I also feel guilty because it is a huge expense and this computer still does work very very well. Another question is do I get some kind of Windows based laptop like a Dell or Gateway (I have a PC now), or do I get the Mac laptop I've been wanting and was always planning to buy after this computer went kerplunk? The pros to the mac are that that's what I've been wanting and planned to buy and I won't look to repalce it until i have to, the cons are that I'd have to learn a new operating system and I wouldn't be able to use my existing software on the laptop. The pros to the PC laptop are that I'd be able to use my current copies of Office Professional, etc and I wouldn't have to worry about file compatibility. The cons are that it puts off me buying the Mac that I realy want or I'll end up buying the mac laptop before it's really necessary to replace the old one.

Any thoughts? Also any laptop suggestions? If I get the Windows one I only need it for school, so I'd like to be able to run Office Professional, and maybe a game or two. if I get the Mac, then I'm looking for something powerful enough to replace my desktop.
Mrs. dleeny Posted:

Re: To laptop or not to laptop. That is the question

get a laptop! it's a no brainer if you need mobility.
MCDO15 Posted:

Re: To laptop or not to laptop. That is the question

for an avg person, a laptop is more then good. pc's are good for power and power intensive graphics/cpu usage. if you are not useing these types of programs, a laptop may be right for you if you like the convience and mobility. you always have the option of replaceing your desktop with a laptop by simpley buying a docking station.... this will let you use a regular keyboard, mouse and monitor when your home so you dont have to look at small screen and use the cusor mouse.

june262004 Posted:

Re: To laptop or not to laptop. That is the question

NAH Just stick with the one you got. Especially since I know you are on such a 'tight budget'

marymoon Posted:

Re: To laptop or not to laptop. That is the question

I'm still going to keep my desktop for games and stuff like photo editing if I get a plain Dell laptop or something it'll be plain. I was planning to eventually get the Mac for my gaming and photo editing stuff to replace my desktop. Thanks for being SO concerned about my situation Kristin. I was thinking of putting it on one of those payment plans where you pay $25 or $50 a month. Plus if it's going to make it easier to juggle work and school and help me get more time to study/do schoolwork, it might be worth the expense.

ETA: Do you think that those $600 laptops from Dell are any good?
june262004 Posted:

Re: To laptop or not to laptop. That is the question

Hey I just see 50.00 a month when Im on a budget is better in my pocket then On something That I already have.

Did you guys buy the new car yet?
marymoon Posted:

Re: To laptop or not to laptop. That is the question

If $50 a month means I get an A instead of a B+ (when I'm paying $20K a year for school to begin with), or that I don't have to waste hours in between classes doing nothing (time is money) then it's worth it. less time wasted is more time I could be working and making $. I didn't say I would definitely do it..I'm just trying to figure out if it's worth it at this point.

june262004 Posted:

Re: To laptop or not to laptop. That is the question

And I gave you my opinion (since you asked) I said I think you should stick with the pc you have.


I don't get how you will get a b+ and not an A if you don't get a new computer. What do you think they did in the 'olden days'?
marymoon Posted:

Re: To laptop or not to laptop. That is the question

it has nothign to do with 'olden days' it has to do with 3 hours gaps between classes when i could be working and instead I'm sitting around doing nothing or walking around like crazy trying to find a lab with a free computer. It's a lot more study time, instead of having to study when I get home at midnight, or have to take less hours at work, or fewer turoing jobs becayse I need the time to study. With a laptop I'd be able to use all of that wasted time to study. it's not about the functiionality of the computer , like I said, my computer works very well, it's about mobility and convenience. Because my major is theatre I have play rehearsals and stuff like that until 10pm, or until 3 am sometimes, when I get home after that is NOT the best time to try to write papers, so I'd rather do it in the 3, or 4 or 5 hours between my last class and my rehearsal, or example

nov04LIbride Posted:

Re: To laptop or not to laptop. That is the question

I recently purchased a laptop for $1200 for starting my doctoral program. It's very good I think, a pretty top of the line IBM ThinkPad. That said, I do not think it is worth the money to get one to bring to school every day. I have a carrying case for it, and though the laptop is light, it is still incredibly bulky, especially when carrying books. I think if there is any chance of you getting a computer in a lab to work on (and in my experience most college labs aren't completely full, other than finals week), that would be a better, and cheaper, option.

IMO I don't think it is worth spending the money on it. I had a mac laptop during my undergrad, and while I wasn't a commuter, I never carried it around to use during the times between classes. I like the ThinkPad much better than the mac.
SuzBride Posted:

Re: To laptop or not to laptop. That is the question

Posted by nov04LIbride

I do not think it is worth the money to get one to bring to school every day.


I agree. I use my laptop at work and at first it was so nice, but now it is just a pain in the arse carrying back and forth from home to work! with the laptop, carrying case and power cord (i have a recent slimmer model too) it just is bulky and annoying. some days i just want to leave it at work, but i am too paranoid someone would steal it.

I do LOVE my laptop though. It is super convenient at times if you have the wireless internet card (mine is on the fritz though and i am too lazy to call dell to fix it) or even better is the built in card. If you have the money and it would save you lots of time (and you have strong muscles ) i would say go for it. if not computer labs are a great alternative
DjPiLL Posted:

Re: To laptop or not to laptop. That is the question

Expect to pay twice the price on a laptop compared to a similarily powered desktop.

Also remember that laptops are WAY more prone to breaking than desktops.


But a laptop is very usefull when you do have those long breaks. And there are deals out there that can land you a decent enough laptop for under $1000.
HearzBellz Posted:

Re: To laptop or not to laptop. That is the question

I loved having my laptop when I was at school. Trying to wait on line to use the computers in the lab on campus was a huge waste of time. I got a lot more studying done, and St. John's had hotspots for wireless internet around the whole campus, so I was even able to do some Internet research if I had to. I finished projects and papers sooner, and was able to do my Accounting homework/spreadsheets between breaks when I was still *awake* rather than when I was falling alseep when I got home.

Some of my professors also allowed us to take notes on them during class instead of writing them (which I did nto do, b/c I remember things better when I write them), but it definitely helped improve my grades, too.
dpli Posted:

Re: To laptop or not to laptop. That is the question

I was a commuter and I used the computer constantly for my major, for labs and assignments both. I would not have spent the $ on a laptop, when I had a perfectly good computer at home that I could use. There is probably other work you can do in the 3 hour gaps you have that you wouldn't need the computer for. I was on a very tight budget as well and I just don't think I could justify spending that amount of money on a new computer when I already had one at home.

It sounds like you are rationalizing buying something you want, rather than something you really need. JMO.
tourist Posted:

Re: To laptop or not to laptop. That is the question

Well, I think it depends on what school you go to & what ttype of classes you are taking.

If your school has good computer labs, then a lap top isn't neccessary. I have been out of school for a while, but I would assume many students have laptops now, therefore freeing up space in the labs.


Working in a lab is also less distracting, b/c you won't have your own games, etc on your own computer that you will want to play with instead of working.

Also, (again, I've been out of school a while) depending on what kind of classes you take, you may not need to do a lot of computer work.
I was a lit major, so between classes I would read or go to the library for research & then do my paper in one shot at night.

I didn't even have a computer--I had one of those Brother word processors!
marymoon Posted:

Re: To laptop or not to laptop. That is the question

The Hofstra labs are tiny and ALWAYS full! That's why. I don't really want a laptop. I've never had one, i'm not a laptop person, the only reason I was planning to get one in the future is so that when i move in with FH we won't have two bulky desktops. I just think it might really help for school. There's not a lot you can do that isn't on the computer , especially if you're in liberal arts and you're constantly writing papers or essays. Also, mosre and more work is on ereserve, so I have all of these electrinci documents and my reading MUST be done on computer, unless I feel like printing hundreds of pages every nightI asked my brother for his old laptop, but he said the power supply is going and that could cost a couple hundred bucks, so if that's the case I figured Dell has a lot of these $600-700 laptops and they say the cheapest thing running today is better than the most expensive thing 5 years ago, which is when his laptop is from. Aso, if you live in the dorm of course you don't need to bring your laptop for in between clases because if you have a gap you can walk 20 minutes back to the dorm. If I go home, it's an hour drive, then an hour back and at least 45 minutes to find parking (hofstra ***** like that..not enough computers, not enough parking). I'm just wondering if people have found it worth it for school. I think in my situation it might be.

nov04LIbride Posted:

Re: To laptop or not to laptop. That is the question

My undergrad college was huge so I never had time to walk back to my dorm, sorority, or apt. One year my sorority house was a 50 minute walk to my college's part of campus.

I actually got jobs on campus to fill the gaps in my schedule. One year I worked in the computer lab, and other years I worked in parking booths and as a tour guide. Pay wasn't super (I think at the end when I was supervising tour guides I made $15/hour), but it was much needed money and freed up my nights to do homework. I also worked in JCrew only on weekends.

ETA: Working in the computer lab was great, and I usually got to work on homework most of the time.
jantany26 Posted:

Re: To laptop or not to laptop. That is the question

I have to say that I agree, you already have a computer and besides they have plenty of computers at school. just save it for things that you really need.jmo

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