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Computer for Med School


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The first problem that many found was image ghosting. If you left an image on the screen long enough and then went to a blank screen you would see a ghost of the original image. This can be a problem if you're editing photos or videos, or frankly if you just want a perfect screen (and you generally buy these laptops for the perfect screen). The people who traded in for a new laptop based on manufacturer's defect then received a screen that had a yellowish tint to it that could not be corrected by color calibration systems like Spyder.

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I ordered a Surface Pro 3 to write my notes on and mark up lecture slides. I also have an Macbook and an iPad, but both are a few years old so I wanted to give this a try. It is integrated with OneNote and the digitizer pen that comes with it is supposed to be pretty fancy because it runs by bluetooth so when you rest your hand on the tablet while writing there is no artifact from your hand.

 

It seems like it could go either way (I would never get one for exclusive tablet use...that's where the trusty iPad comes in), but for daily note taking and .pdf management it's supposed to be excellent.

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I ordered a Surface Pro 3 to write my notes on and mark up lecture slides. I also have an Macbook and an iPad, but both are a few years old so I wanted to give this a try. It is integrated with OneNote and the digitizer pen that comes with it is supposed to be pretty fancy because it runs by bluetooth so when you rest your hand on the tablet while writing there is no artifact from your hand.

 

It seems like it could go either way (I would never get one for exclusive tablet use...that's where the trusty iPad comes in), but for daily note taking and .pdf management it's supposed to be excellent.

 

Have you looked into a Wacom Inkling?

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I think I'm just going to go with a Surface Pro 3. It seems to suit all my needs and I don't mind paying a little extra . I don't know whether to sell my iPad though, it's a little smaller so might be easier to carry around during clerkship.

 

Mine is shipping sometime this week. Let me know if you have any questions about it. :)

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Mine SP3 is shipping this week too, might post a brief review of it after using it for a couple of weeks.

 

Very cool! I hope the note taking function is as reliable as it sounds. I like the idea of keeping a record of all my personal and annotated notes in the cloud for the duration of school.

 

I'm also a huge fan of this app to go with it. It's on sale for $10 until July 7th.

http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/essential-anatomy-3/c62b78ce-cebb-4d7d-a319-8553cb70c7ba

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Just tried a Surface Pro 3 in a windows store and I'm very tempted by it. The digitizer pen makes using a stylus on my iPad feel like fingerpainting. I think I'm going to buy one and see how it feels/works with my Mac.

 

That's a relief. There isn't a Windows Store anywhere in my province and the big box stores don't seem to have a display version of them yet. I am basing my preorder off of playing with the Pro 2 and reviews for the 3. It shipped today, so I'll let you know soon.

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I already have a subscription to Office 365 University. I actually just signed up for a year of OneDrive Business because it is about to become 1 TB (1000 GB) for $2.50/month https://onedrive.live.com/about/en-us/plans/.

 

The OneDrive for Business client installs alongside the standard OneDrive client, so space isn't shared but once the 25 GB goes to 1 TB, I will enjoy the massive amount of storage space. Google Drive at $2/month for 100 GB is also a good deal.

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Both my type cover and SP3 both have confirmed delivery by end of day tomorrow, now, goodyearkl. Re-check your tracking numbers on UPS.com!

 

Haha lucky. Mine is by the end of day on Monday...I live on an island so I'm not surprised. :rolleyes:

 

Thanks for the info regarding OneDrive!

 

Enjoy your SP3!:D

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First thoughts on Surface Pro 3 with Type Cover:

 

The integration with the pen and OneNote is amazing. I used the iPad 3 during my pre-med science year and made do with an awful stylus and the limited palm recognition built into Notability. OneNote and the active digitizer pen in the SP3 is going to make a world of difference.

 

The Type Cover is a very decent keyboard. I wouldn't use the SP3 and this keyboard to replace a laptop for graduate school work (writing a thesis, for instance). However, for medical school note taking it will be perfect, I believe. And for quick edits of my thesis, I believe I will love it.

 

As for using it to read scholarly articles and make notes on them in OneNote, this device will be amazing.

 

Make sure you watch the video Microsoft posted on tips on how to use the pen with OneNote... it will greatly improve your efficiency in note taking (

).

 

The very high resolution screen makes it very easy to use split screen to have two applications open at the same time. For example: a PDF of an article on the left of the screen and OneNote on the right-hand side.

 

If anybody has any questions about the SP3, don't hesitate to ask.

 

If I have any more opinions to share, I'll post them here. I have only been using it for a few hours so far.

 

I will point out to make sure that you run Update before you attempt to make use of the pen/OneNote features: they are enabled in a firmware update that needs to install. Also, be patient as it is a large patch.

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