College: Laptop vs Desktop

[noid]

Laptops break easy, they walk off easy, they are easily forgotten places, and have a high resale value on the black market.

Desktops are cheap, you can chain it to your desk, and you can put super huge HDs in them

Regardless of what you go with one piece of advice I dont see anywhere in here: make backups. Back up often, store the backups securely. Remember, you're not just worried about people hacking your computer, you need to worry about your computer getting lost or stolen, or simply breaking down. Remember security can be broken down into confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Hackers seem to almost always focus on the confidentiality part, somewhat on the integrity part, and almost none on the availibility part. Having your HD crash and losing a semesters worth of research papers is just as bad as having someone rm -rf / your box.

[astcell]

Yup, backups, you need 'em. Mail stuff to your gmail account, that will help for backup and availability, as well as confidentiality.

[Voltage Spike]

You pay less attention in class

I can confirm this. My dilemma, however, was usually pay less attention in class (especially once they installed a wireless network) or fall asleep.

a whole hell of a lot of the notes you are taking are not easily placed into a text document.

Just a tip that worked for me: take notes on paper as a rough draft and then retype/redraw them into a digital format later. Not only do you get the benefits of quick note-taking in class and digital, searchable notes, but the act of copying serves as a very good method for studying.

your laptop WILL get stolen in a few months.

It might depend on your school, but I've never had a problem.

you look like a real douche being the laptop guy in your classes.

Again, it might depend on your school, but I don't find this to be the case. Laptops have become extremely common in computer-related classes, and both the students and the professors tend to appreciate the immediate availability of information for answering in-class questions.

[noid]

Just a tip that worked for me: take notes on paper as a rough draft and then retype/redraw them into a digital format later. Not only do you get the benefits of quick note-taking in class and digital, searchable notes, but the act of copying serves as a very good method for studying.

As icky as it may make some people feel, check out Microsoft OneNote. Its actually pretty slick. Lets you organize your notes, turn them into actionable tasks, and schedule the tasks. You can also collect supporting files, graphics, etc and dump them there. Its basically the virtual equivilent of the notepad I carry with me.

[Second]

As icky as it may make some people feel, check out Microsoft OneNote. Its actually pretty slick. Lets you organize your notes, turn them into actionable tasks, and schedule the tasks. You can also collect supporting files, graphics, etc and dump them there. Its basically the virtual equivilent of the notepad I carry with me.

I found it funny that I was told I was only "one click away" from being able to try it w/o a download. One click turned into three clicks, and ending in an error saying my browser wasn't supported

[noid]

I found it funny that I was told I was only "one click away" from being able to try it w/o a download. One click turned into three clicks, and ending in an error saying my browser wasn't supported

Ya, I think you have to fire up the browser which shall not be named to get it that way.

[Second]

Ya, I think you have to fire up the browser which shall not be named to get it that way.

That was my guess as well, but since I started using my new laptop, I haven't opened it once and I'm trying to keep it that way. I know it's necessary for Windows Update but I doubt I will need anything from there (critical).