Guest tomparv Posted May 17, 2005 Report Share Posted May 17, 2005 I'll be buying a laptop soon, and I was wondering if anyone could comment on the laptops they've been using in medical school. Any brand loyalties, or particular features you'd recommend? Are they useful for lectures? Is getting a PDA for clinical stuff advisable? Is there good WiFi coverage at your particular school? Thanks very much, Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirsteen Posted May 17, 2005 Report Share Posted May 17, 2005 Hi there, Really, it depends upon your personal preference. During my graduate years, I relied on a Windows-based laptop quite heavily. Near the end of that program, I switched to a Mac PowerBook and haven't looked back. Overall, I find the Mac operating system relatively elegant in comparison to that of the Windows system. Additionally, it seems to be less plagued with viruses and system crashes far less. Also, I've managed to load Mac versions of all the software I need including EndNote, SPSS (albeit the Mac version of SPSS is more expensive than the Windows version) and the MS Office suite. At the UofC we use Palms for our scheduling, etc., and I also sync my Palm to the desktop software on my PowerBook. Also, Airport and iTunes are fantastic if you enjoy wireless capabilities and have an iPod. What's really great about the Mac laptop is the size: although there are 3 models to choose from (size-wise) I can shuttle my 12" PowerBook almost anywhere, quite effortlessly, as it's teeny and light. On a related, yet contrary, note (and I believe there was a thread regarding this elsewhere) a number of my classmates use tablet PCs in class and seem to enjoy them. Cheers, and good luck with your decision, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peachy Posted May 17, 2005 Report Share Posted May 17, 2005 Any brand loyalties, or particular features you'd recommend?I'm fond of my Motion M1300, although a slate isn't for everyone. One of the best features, though, is that their tech support line has no waiting. You call them, and a person answers, and says "How can I help you?" I'm always stunned. For me, having a small laptop is the most important feature. You can get that in a cheap laptop (my brother has a very cheap very small Averatec that he loves), in a tablet, in a Powerbook, or in a mid- to high-range Windows laptop. It's also nice to have an extended battery, imho. Are they useful for lectures?Some people bring laptops to lectures. I find that it's much less useful than it was in undergrad, because we're given paper copies of all the notes anyways. Is getting a PDA for clinical stuff advisable?At U of T, there's no particular reason to have one for preclerkship. Mine broke before I started school, and I never bothered to replace it. Is there good WiFi coverage at your particular school?We've got great coverage in our classrooms and the library; I've never tried elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jochi1543 Posted May 18, 2005 Report Share Posted May 18, 2005 I had/have a Sony Vaio, which I am completely (was completely) in love with. Why the past tense mixed with present, you ask? Well, one night sophomore year I got really drunk, and threw up on my open laptop from my bunk bed. It short-circuited. A few days later, I had it left on the floor, and it was covered with clothes, since I was packing to move out of the dorm for the summer. Well, of course I stepped on it and cracked my LCD. My friend fixes up PCs and he dealt with the vomit problem (I bet he loved it), but I need a new LCD because half of the screen doesn't work now. I got it for $900 on Ebay, perfect condition, it was about a year old then. A new one would sell for $2000 at that point. It's really thin and light despite being average-sized, so it's very convenient to carry around. Also, since Sony is a popular brand, it's easy to buy accessories and all other stuff you may need for your laptop. It was very fast (I think it's Pentium III - I don't have it here with me now though, so I'm not sure). I had had it for 1.5 years by the time the little puke accident occured and never a single problem. I can't wait to buy a new LCD and have my friend install it so I can use my baby again. :smokin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stepstofollow Posted May 23, 2005 Report Share Posted May 23, 2005 Can you tell me a bit more about a "slate"? Pros ? Cons? Why do you like it better than other laptops? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest studentz Posted May 25, 2005 Report Share Posted May 25, 2005 If you're comparing laptops and tablets, try a convertible...you get both, and they're generally more powerful than slate tablets. Re: PDAs. Palm just put out something called LifeDrive, which is a PDA with a 4 gig hard drive for MP3s, movies, digital camera images (it acts as a USB host) etc. Looks cool,especially since I was prepared to drop ~$400 on a good MP3 player soon, but it's $500 USD at the moment. It's supposed to have a decent processor, it has Bluetooth and is Wi-fi enabled so I may try and get one on ebay or something. I realize I won't need it for medical stuff until 3rd year, but I may need it to organize myself before then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peachy Posted May 25, 2005 Report Share Posted May 25, 2005 I chose this particular tablet (Motion M1300) not specifically because it was a slate, but because it had the best combination of features available in a tablet at the time. I think that the downsides are minimal with the "hard top keyboard" (described below), although the advantages are not tremendous either. So, the Motion has a "hard top keyboard" which is very thin and snaps onto the tablet as a protective cover. It takes maybe 5 seconds to plug it in to the tablet itself - and presto - I've got a convertible laptop! Those 5 seconds are the slight disadvantage. The slight advantage, on the other hand, is that with the hardtop keyboard (vs a convertible) I can type in portrait (vs landscape) orientation. This is way more convenient for anything involving documents, because it basically fits a full sheet of paper in the screen. That is, instead of having a strip of white at the right side of your screen (because text in documents usually doesn't go that far) you have a full screen of usable space. The other slight advantage is that hinges can break with repeated use, if you're not careful. So, if you're looking at a tablet, take a look at ALL the models out there, and figure out which one is best for you. Whether it's a slate or a convertible isn't, imho, the most important factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stepstofollow Posted May 26, 2005 Report Share Posted May 26, 2005 "If you're comparing laptops and tablets, try a convertible...you get both, and they're generally more powerful than slate tablets." :\ Can you describe a convertible to me? I'm embarrassed to say I've never heard of one.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest studentz Posted May 26, 2005 Report Share Posted May 26, 2005 no prob. you can check futureshop.ca and toshiba's website. It's basically a laptop with a touch sensitive screen that has a hinge, enabling it to be rotated and folded across the keyboard so you can write on it like a tablet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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