Do I need a Laptop?

[Just Ben]

Thinking of getting a new one and just wondered;

Do you use them much in college or is the work paper based?

Are they used more for work or entertainment?

Do you even need one?

Do you use/need them at sea?

Anything else you can think of?

I've seen a nice one but need swaying if it's necessary or not.

Thanks
Ben

[CharlieDelta]

Re: Laptops

I use my laptop all he time at college, both for work and entertainment. Some lecturers insist on printed assignments, and while you can use the library it's so much easier to have a laptop yourself. On top of this, some colleges (WMA) have a "virtual learning environment" which can be useful for revision.

[Just Ben]

Re: Laptops

Thanks CharlieD,

what kind of work do you do on it? like Word, Excel and the like?

[CharlieDelta]

Re: Laptops

For college, Word is the main thing along with the usual internetty stuff. You can get Office relatively cheap as a student, otherwise google OpenOffice which is a free alternative (which works very well).

[The H]

Re: Laptops

I would say a laptop is essential.

[alistairuk]

Re: Laptops

I would say a laptop is essential.

Even more so at sea than college - assuming you plan to type all your reports and your ops / nav work book entries anyway. Also it will become your best friend when you are stuck in your cabin bored - you can always play movies, games or just listen to music.

[Just Ben]

Re: Laptops

Thanks guys, you've swaying me to get it.

[alistairuk]

Re: Laptops

I would recommend a macbook - but I know I am in the minority on here with my love of them!

[Just Ben]

Re: Laptops

AHH i am literally looking at one right now.. I've only ever used a PC so i was a bit unsure but the more i look into them the more i like them. It may make a dent in my wallet though.

Can i ask what one you have? screen size ect.

[alistairuk]

Re: Laptops

I have the previous edition of the 2.5 Ghz 15 inch, MacBook Pro - I've had it just under 3 years now so I am planning to replace it in summer I think. It is a bit different from Windows - but it only takes a day or two to get used to it - my main reason for changing was I refused to get Windows Vista and now I wouldn't go back - Windows tends to annoy me whenever I have to use it, even over the tiniest little things like having to wait on a program to load!

But there all the same, the only one I would definitely not get is the Air - with one USB port its pretty useless!

If you are a student (which you are) take your college ID card to an Apple store and you'll get a 10% discount - they'll also give you the 3 years apple care thing for around ?40 cause your a student.

I recommend you get iWorks as well - its essentially Apple's rival to Office - it takes a bit of getting used to (but no more than trying to use the new office's with those stupid toolbars) but it is far far better than Office for day to day things and will happily open or save Word, Excel or PowerPoint files. Theres also Microsoft Office for Mac, which I don't have, I prefer iWorks now

[CharlieDelta]

Re: Laptops

If I had the money I'd have a Mac. They're suitable for everything really unless you're a PC gamer.

[alistairuk]

Re: Laptops

If I had the money I'd have a Mac. They're suitable for everything really unless you're a PC gamer.

I'm not a big game player, but most of the popular games have "Mac versions" which Apple handily sell to you from their web site / stores... But these days you can either dual boot windows or do what I have and get a program called Parallels, it allows you to run windows within Mac OSX and rather surprisingly it's good enough to run most games through it (for example: Halo, Battlefield2) - which I was totally not expecting.

But if your wanting a machine for gaming, your probably best just getting a Windows laptop.

[CharlieDelta]

Re: Laptops

This is true. Windows 7 seems to work well on Mac.

I just like them because MacOS looks pretty and it's easy to use.

[GuinnessMan]

Re: Laptops

STAY AWAY FROM APPLE! TRUST ME ON THIS ONE!

Anywhos, Laptops are essential. I didn't really do much in the way of reports on them, but it did keep me entertained on those rare moments where I had some time to myself...

[chris]

Re: Laptops

i got a great laptop from hp for ?450 - lovely 17" widescreen for watching dvd what would the equivalent sized macbook cost? and is it so much better for that price difference? must declare i hate the apple company