Well, I'll be starting university in the fall (engineering), and I'm really wondering if a laptop would be a useful thing to have. I'm gonna be staying at home, so it's not as if this would be my only computer; I'd like to know what good a laptop would be in classes, for taking notes and such. So, opinions? Would a laptop be a good thing to have, or would I be better off sticking to the paper kind of notebooks?
What do you use your laptop for?
- Thread starter Trippytiger
- Start date
Taking notes on a lappie in class is hard unless you have a tablet with handwriting recognition or the pen tool that lets you write to a virtual notebook. What I would have used it for (just graduated from EE) is to keep my powerpoint/ pdf notes on hand, keep up with email and keep all my project files in one place. If you are just an incoming freshman, I would say that getting a laptop is a waste. I would wait atleast until late sophmore or junior year. You will most likely be taking non-engineering classes in the beginning anyway (like math and the sciences) and unless your school recommends a lappie for those classes, it will be a waste.
You can write reports and essays without running home. Chat with friends in boring lectures. Look at online pdfs or powerpoint slides for your lectures. Run circuit simulation software without having to wait to use the lab's PCs. And most importantly, if you're a ce or cs major, program anywhere you want. A lightweight laptop is a good investment in my opinion. It saved me so much time. Get one if you can afford it, especially if 'living at home' means your parents house and a > 15 minute commute. Good luck in school-
Also for classes that involve Powerpoint presentations, you can pull up the Powerpoint on your lappy and type in the notes underneath each of the slides, or even in a separate Word file.
Commodus
Diamond Member
- Oct 9, 2004
- 9,215
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Laptops are best for in-class notes primarily if you're an arts student (including poli-sci, history, classics, etc.). It's harder to justify a laptop for engineering unless it's required, as you may need to include equations or graphs. I know some software can do it, but it may be trickier.
It might be better to get an SFF PC if you're going to be living on campus, unless you know your school will have a wireless network available for students and you intend to use it.
It might be better to get an SFF PC if you're going to be living on campus, unless you know your school will have a wireless network available for students and you intend to use it.
Yeah, as an enginerd, er, engineer you'll probably have a lot of software that you'll use that's proprietary and really hard to ever come by even if you look hard for it. This goes double and triple if you are a computer/electrical engineer. in this case, you'll be spending tons of time in the workstation labs doing your simulations till your eyes bleed.
but for pretty much everybody, its hard to impossible to ever really use the laptop for class notes (just buy a notebook and pen). but yeah, if it comes to programming as in a CS major, they're great. Or if you're like me, an architecture major, who lives and dies by autocad, VIZ and photoshop, a lappy is great to have. but if you're just using it for class notes then i'm sure you could find a better way to spend your money (unless you just really want something you can tote around easily).
but for pretty much everybody, its hard to impossible to ever really use the laptop for class notes (just buy a notebook and pen). but yeah, if it comes to programming as in a CS major, they're great. Or if you're like me, an architecture major, who lives and dies by autocad, VIZ and photoshop, a lappy is great to have. but if you're just using it for class notes then i'm sure you could find a better way to spend your money (unless you just really want something you can tote around easily).
6th year engineering student. Laptops are useless for taking notes as an engineering student. Too many equations, diagrams, and random scrimbling to take note of.
Thanks for your replies, everybody.
Yeah, I can certainly understand that. It's a shame, too, because I can never read what I've written.
What I find confusing is that there seems to be an implicit expectation that I'll need a laptop for my engineering courses - the main engineering building has wifi hotspots in each classroom, ethernet jacks, electrical sockets, etc....
Yeah, I can certainly understand that. It's a shame, too, because I can never read what I've written.
What I find confusing is that there seems to be an implicit expectation that I'll need a laptop for my engineering courses - the main engineering building has wifi hotspots in each classroom, ethernet jacks, electrical sockets, etc....
sivart
Golden Member
- Oct 20, 2000
- 1,786
- 0
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Man, I have only been out of college since 1997, but would love to see what they are like now. Back in the day 
P) seeing a laptop in class didn't happen (unless it was the professors) and seeing a laptop owned by a stundent in use anyway was a rare event. You could tell which students had the rich daddy...if they had a laptop (portable computer) they qualified.
No power outlets, wireless, ethernet for the students. They did have a computer lab with Mac's, however. The only way to submit an assignment was to show up and hand it to the professor
P) seeing a laptop in class didn't happen (unless it was the professors) and seeing a laptop owned by a stundent in use anyway was a rare event. You could tell which students had the rich daddy...if they had a laptop (portable computer) they qualified.No power outlets, wireless, ethernet for the students. They did have a computer lab with Mac's, however. The only way to submit an assignment was to show up and hand it to the professor
Well, if you are in Computer Science, even in first year, a laptop is REALLY handy.
First, you have access to a computer 24/7. In my school, the campus is WiFi enabled and you can browse the internet to check sites/email/etc.
Second, in CS, the profs in my school uses a script for students to hand in their assignments. CS courses have computer labs (Solaris, Linux, WinXP)which require you to use computers (duh) and you are able to work ahead to save time if you have a laptop.
Third, with a laptop, you can have exclusive access to a computer (that is, if you share your desktop with others such as family members). In CS, they have you install SDKs and other apps to use for an assignment. More specifically, you will need a customized computer that has stuff like Java, C/C++, GNU/Linux (or run cygwin), Eclipse, etc. If you have your own environment setup and you can take it on/off campus, a laptop will help you work on your assignments.
Also, schools have deals with Microsoft (MSDNAA) and you can obtain Windows, OneNote, Visio, etc. if you are in "high tech" programs like CS, ECE, EE.
Finally, you can do the other stuff other posters are talking about like viewing pdfs, powerpoints, etc.
First, you have access to a computer 24/7. In my school, the campus is WiFi enabled and you can browse the internet to check sites/email/etc.
Second, in CS, the profs in my school uses a script for students to hand in their assignments. CS courses have computer labs (Solaris, Linux, WinXP)which require you to use computers (duh) and you are able to work ahead to save time if you have a laptop.
Third, with a laptop, you can have exclusive access to a computer (that is, if you share your desktop with others such as family members). In CS, they have you install SDKs and other apps to use for an assignment. More specifically, you will need a customized computer that has stuff like Java, C/C++, GNU/Linux (or run cygwin), Eclipse, etc. If you have your own environment setup and you can take it on/off campus, a laptop will help you work on your assignments.
Also, schools have deals with Microsoft (MSDNAA) and you can obtain Windows, OneNote, Visio, etc. if you are in "high tech" programs like CS, ECE, EE.
Finally, you can do the other stuff other posters are talking about like viewing pdfs, powerpoints, etc.
Check with your school for academic discounts & such.
I'm in CPE/EE & I like to have my laptop with me, but I never use it for notes (as others have said). A lot of my classes have PDF notes, so that is useful but I still recommend just printing the notes so you can make scribbles on it. Its just nice to have a laptop for in-between classes or if you're going to stay out in your academic building or library all night studying.
I'm in CPE/EE & I like to have my laptop with me, but I never use it for notes (as others have said). A lot of my classes have PDF notes, so that is useful but I still recommend just printing the notes so you can make scribbles on it. Its just nice to have a laptop for in-between classes or if you're going to stay out in your academic building or library all night studying.
i'm an mech eng student in newcastle uk. we have something called balck board where most of the lecturers put up there notes, so i download them during the lecture which can be useful, however my n64 emulator comes in useful for goldeneye for the boring lectures, may explain why i'm well on my way to doing not very well this year, ah well thats what fresher year is for i guess (hope)!!
Thanks again for all the replies.
So, what I'm getting from this is that a laptop would be a nice thing to have for my first year, but far from essential to my classes, but it might become more important later on. I'm thinking of going into mechanical engineering in my second year, so maybe a laptop would come in handy for doing CAD or similar things on my own time. I suppose I should wait and see, though.
I think I want to get one for my first year, still; I'm gonna be spending a lot of time on campus, and I definitely don't live close enough to run home between classes. So that leaves me with a new question - should I try to anticipate more intensive usage and look at more powerful lappies now, or would it make more sense to go with something that's just really cheap and move up to something better if I have to?
So, what I'm getting from this is that a laptop would be a nice thing to have for my first year, but far from essential to my classes, but it might become more important later on. I'm thinking of going into mechanical engineering in my second year, so maybe a laptop would come in handy for doing CAD or similar things on my own time. I suppose I should wait and see, though.
I think I want to get one for my first year, still; I'm gonna be spending a lot of time on campus, and I definitely don't live close enough to run home between classes. So that leaves me with a new question - should I try to anticipate more intensive usage and look at more powerful lappies now, or would it make more sense to go with something that's just really cheap and move up to something better if I have to?
Wuzup101
Platinum Member
- Feb 20, 2002
- 2,334
- 37
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Here's my thoughts...
You will use a laptop just as much your first year as you will use it thoughout school. Portability is the key factor here. You can take you're work with you whenever you want to. It's much easier to have all your information at your fingertips when you're at the library writing a paper or whatnot. This being said, you probably will do limited note taking on your laptop. You'll probably have more opportunity for this in your earlier years before the classes get to be "too technical." I have found myself using my laptop to take notes in many of my bio classes where diagrams are refrenced in the book. However, I've never been able to use it for chem, math, or any of my engineering core classes because of the "technical" aspect of those classes that requires to many figures to be drawn and such. However, I use it all the time outside of class. I often do much of my homework at the library before going back to my apartment. It's simply easier to have my own computer than to use one at the lab there.
You'll also have to consider that most of the specific engineering work you'll need to do will be done in labs on workstations w/ special programs designed for that kind of work. I wouldn't necessarly worry about purchasing a lappy that is all powerful just so you can run 1 program that you might need to use a handful of times in youur college career. Sure having a nice laptop is great, but is the extra $1000 worth not walking to the lab a dozen times? Besides, this assumes that you can even get a copy of those programs for a reasonable price. I go to a huge engineering school (penn state). We get tons of programs (operating systems, ms office, adobe products, etc) almost free. And there's still certain programs that would cost me an arm and a leg if I wanted to use them on my personal machine.
You will use a laptop just as much your first year as you will use it thoughout school. Portability is the key factor here. You can take you're work with you whenever you want to. It's much easier to have all your information at your fingertips when you're at the library writing a paper or whatnot. This being said, you probably will do limited note taking on your laptop. You'll probably have more opportunity for this in your earlier years before the classes get to be "too technical." I have found myself using my laptop to take notes in many of my bio classes where diagrams are refrenced in the book. However, I've never been able to use it for chem, math, or any of my engineering core classes because of the "technical" aspect of those classes that requires to many figures to be drawn and such. However, I use it all the time outside of class. I often do much of my homework at the library before going back to my apartment. It's simply easier to have my own computer than to use one at the lab there.
You'll also have to consider that most of the specific engineering work you'll need to do will be done in labs on workstations w/ special programs designed for that kind of work. I wouldn't necessarly worry about purchasing a lappy that is all powerful just so you can run 1 program that you might need to use a handful of times in youur college career. Sure having a nice laptop is great, but is the extra $1000 worth not walking to the lab a dozen times? Besides, this assumes that you can even get a copy of those programs for a reasonable price. I go to a huge engineering school (penn state). We get tons of programs (operating systems, ms office, adobe products, etc) almost free. And there's still certain programs that would cost me an arm and a leg if I wanted to use them on my personal machine.
From a engineering view, a laptop isn't very pratical simply because it's mostly for writting. Math, engineering, chem, physics, etcc...aren't very helpful and efficient. I mostly use mine on campus for using the darn fast Internet and occasionally lab papers. But then I find the laptop comes in handy under certain circumstances especially for english classes (or any literary courses). Most of the software used for engineering are either in the computer labs or in the electrical labs.
Laptops not needed in class. Print out your powerpoint slides, so you can write on them with a pen. I always see some students at the beginning of the semester try to bring their laptops in, and annotate their powerpoint slides with the lectures. Never works well. Little diagrams, side notes, and the occaisional test exam questions that pop out verbally cannot be transcribed quickly enough on the computer. By the middle of the semester, the 40% of the class that brought in laptops now only number down to 5%, and that 5% are just losers who play games on their computer during the lecture (why bother even coming to class?).
herm0016
Diamond Member
- Feb 26, 2005
- 8,512
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i am an engineering student and i love having a laptop. its great when you are working in a team, great for programing, you can use it and a lab computer at the same time, espically nice if you the lab computers are slow. great for labs and things, expically if you have a serial port, i have done many things including controls sims with matlab and testing of sensors with my 600m. i think a laptop is a good idea, will make it easer to go other places to work on homework also.
get a tablet pc, greatest investment u will ever make
write down those math equations, draw those in class diagrams, everything u can do with a laptop, plus a pen at ur finger tip...what else can u want for an all in one...
get a tablet enough said...everything else is second best, might seem biased, but once u incorporate in ur routine...u can't believe u lived without it
tc1100
m200
gateway m275??
some names/models to get u started
write down those math equations, draw those in class diagrams, everything u can do with a laptop, plus a pen at ur finger tip...what else can u want for an all in one...
get a tablet enough said...everything else is second best, might seem biased, but once u incorporate in ur routine...u can't believe u lived without it
tc1100
m200
gateway m275??
some names/models to get u started
I've looked at some tablet PCs, but they're all way outside of any price range that I would want, I'm afraid. And my 'writing' (more like scrawling) is probably so illegible that handwriting recognition software would just up and die.
I think I might just end up waiting until school starts, or just before, and try to get a used T40 or something... gotta get one that's durable.
I think I might just end up waiting until school starts, or just before, and try to get a used T40 or something... gotta get one that's durable.
You don't have to use the handwriting to type mechanism. It can just capture exactly what you draw on the screen. Its just like paper literally. I would get a motion tablet the new one that came out.
It is spendy. But if you figure in more productivity and what not and better organization and if it helps with school then it might be worth the extra bucks now.
I personally think laptops in general really suck because i have never had a laptop in my life that worked correctly. I have had like 3 laptops in my life. First one was a toshiba, second was an hp, and third is a IBM r32. The R32 that i currently have has been hell. Its got so many problems with it, i didn't know what to do. Mainly xp crashing all the time, and what not. its been to IBM twice for various problems, first was LCD cable, and then the next time for the system mobo to be replaced. And it still didn't work out correctly. Its out of warranty so i decided to open it up today and take a look around and low and behold IBM DID NOT PUT ANY THERMAL PASTE/THERMAL PAD on the CPU/Heatsink. I added some AS5 to it and i checked out the GPU and cleaned that area up and repositioned the thermal pad. THe gap with the heatsink was just to big for me to replace it with thermal paste. Put the sucker back together, and i am currently typing this post with it. Its been running f@h for the last 5 hours with no problems. So i think i have fixed the laptop. Before opening it up, it would BSOD or things would crash even on a fresh install of XP right away. It wouldn't even last 15 mins sometimes. Sorry for my rant.
It is spendy. But if you figure in more productivity and what not and better organization and if it helps with school then it might be worth the extra bucks now.
I personally think laptops in general really suck because i have never had a laptop in my life that worked correctly. I have had like 3 laptops in my life. First one was a toshiba, second was an hp, and third is a IBM r32. The R32 that i currently have has been hell. Its got so many problems with it, i didn't know what to do. Mainly xp crashing all the time, and what not. its been to IBM twice for various problems, first was LCD cable, and then the next time for the system mobo to be replaced. And it still didn't work out correctly. Its out of warranty so i decided to open it up today and take a look around and low and behold IBM DID NOT PUT ANY THERMAL PASTE/THERMAL PAD on the CPU/Heatsink. I added some AS5 to it and i checked out the GPU and cleaned that area up and repositioned the thermal pad. THe gap with the heatsink was just to big for me to replace it with thermal paste. Put the sucker back together, and i am currently typing this post with it. Its been running f@h for the last 5 hours with no problems. So i think i have fixed the laptop. Before opening it up, it would BSOD or things would crash even on a fresh install of XP right away. It wouldn't even last 15 mins sometimes. Sorry for my rant.
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