The one PC feature I will pimp, which is actually software, is Microsoft OneNote.  My understanding is that OneNote doesn't work on Macs and Macs have nothing similar.  In my opinion, it is the single greatest note-taking software around.  It's like excel and word had a totally usable baby.  It allows you to create separate tabs for each section of your "notebook" (e.g. my notebooks are Law School Semester 1 and 2 and my tabs are the names of my classes), then allows you to create separate tabs within each class tab (so I do a new tab for every class).  I can title them as well (say, Diversity Juridiction, 02/04).  It has word processing capability and it creates these boxes around everything you type so that you can drag and drop your text all over the screen.  PLUS it allows you to highlight the border of the box and copy everything with ease (very handy for outlines).  It removes the spatial limitations of word so you can type anywhere on the screen, whenever you want. Oh and you can print to it. 

So I guess that is more of a recommendation for One Note, which I LOVE.  If you can get it for Mac, sweet. If not, just a head's up on an awesome PC feature.

That does indeed sound like a great program. I will have to look into that, thanks

Unfortunately, there is really no solid answer to your question.
It's sort of a crapshoot.

This is very true! I just wanted to get some opinions from people on what they prefer and why. Thanks for the great advice. I have a lot to consider and I will be getting a warranty for whatever laptop I end up choosing!

Wow, that was all very informative. I remember hearing stories over the years about how horrible the customer service is! It is weird because I grew up in a home with a computer programmer and he has always used Dells. I have never heard him have a complaint about Dell once.

With all that said, I am just nervous to invest money into something that will cause me problems. Going into law school this Fall, it is not like I have tons of money that I can just go out and buy whatever laptop I want. I want it to last and function, for exactly what I need it for.

Again, thank you for the great advice and I will keep shopping around!

I'm thinking about one of those mini-things too.

Too many resources, no simple place to turn. I want some kind of online test, where I click what I want to do with the computer and it returns several recommendations. For instance, I'm definitely not a "gamer." All I do is wordprocessing, in fact, and web browsing. Email. I don't even do MyBook or YouFace or whatever you children waste your time on ... ...

I own an Inspiron I got about 3 years ago.  I'm sure I'll have to replace it soon. Tulane pretty much insists that we remain on the IBM platform, because of the exam software (unless you want to hand-write ...).

Another point: DON'T GET VISTA. Get Windows XP Pro.

I agree! I need an online test to tell me what kind of notebook to purchase too.

How is the Inspiron working for you? There seems to be quite a few people who do not like Dell, but I don't exactly know why.

Why not Vista? What is wrong with it??

Quote from: ABN319 on May 20, 2008, 07:18:30 PM

well this has all been very helpful. I have been leaning towards a MAC, particularly the black Macbook, but I am not sure yet.

does anyone have any advice on what brand of PCs are most reliable?

I mean, for law school purposes, is one better than another?

http://www.pcmag.com/download_thank_you/0,1220,d=3666,00.asp

has a great survey attached to it.   It shows that Macs score the best in most reliability and customer satisfaction categories.  I called the network guy at the law school I'll be attending and he gave me some good input about which notebooks the law students like.

Thank you very much. It is a good idea to call the network person at your school. I have talked to a few students about it and everyone seems to have their own personal preference. I think because my school is so small and a laptop is not required, they might just tell me that any notebook would suffice.

Did you purchase one yet? Which one? If not, which one are you leaning towards?