Law School Discussion

OneNote does it all.  Technically, all you need is a PC, OneNote and a microphone.  You connect the mic and open OneNote.  Then you select audio record from within OneNote (there are shortcut icons on the top or just select it from the menus).  This will start the audio recording through the mic.  Then, ANY TIME YOU TYPE SOMETHING into OneNote, it creates a marker next to the note.  This marker is keyed to the exact point in the audio recording that you began typing.  If you stop typing a note, then start a new one, that new note will also have a marker, pointing to a different spot in the audio and so forth.  Really quite an amazing feature.

The greatest thing about OneNote is that it is relatively new.  MSoft really hasn't had a chance to give it much attention so far.  They are on their second release of the product and have made an amazing effort so far.  Once it becomes fully integrated with Office and they implement some of the suggestions from the OneNote community I think this program will rock even more.  However, always remember that OneNote was not meant to replace any of the other office programs.  Word will always be better for long word documents, Excel for spreadsheets and so on.  But OneNote does fill a unique niche that can really be put to good use by students and so that's why I use it.

I'm headed to law school to be a prosecutor (local, state or federal).  I used to be in the Army and took my job defending this country very seriously.  I can't continue my military career for health reasons, but I wanted to do something that continued defending the citizens of this country and it's laws.  This may sound like a defense attorney's job, but I see prosecutors as defending the will of the people as enacted by the legislature.  I've also had some exposure to prosecution through friends in JAG and I really liked the problem-solving aspects of their job and the wide field of knowledge they required in order to prosecute crimes.  So I've chosen law school because I like what I've seen/heard/read so far about law in general, prosecution specifically, and want to give it a shot.

As for doing a 180 in school - I'm open to that possibility.  I think it less likely to happen to me than a recent undergrad simply because I've had more life experience, know more about myself (my interests, tastes, type of work I like to do) and have given this a lot of thought.  However, if something should come along in school that makes me change my mind and go in a different direction, great!  It will mean that I'm even more interested and excited by that than I currently am by prosecution, which would be a cool thing.

There's another thread on laptops here

However, as to the Winbook, I just have to say buyer beware.  There are a lot of companies that sell computers, both desktops and laptops.  There are only a few companies that manufacture parts.  Most resellers sell the same hardware with a different label, different service package, different software package and slightly different hardware package.  One company may substitute a cheap hard drive in place of an expensive one, or skimp on the optical drive. So what's the difference in the end?  Well, it's really the quality of hardware and the service package in my opinion.  Most computers out there, given the state of hardware these days, will blow your mind.  However, only the good quality stuff will last in the long run (and that's not a 100% guarantee).  Because it's not a guarantee, the service is equally important.  Companies like Winbook or Averatec have a tough time gaining a foothold because they can't compete with Dell or Gateway in the service department.  They just don't have the size or capital to do it.  Their computers can compete in tech, but if something breaks... look out.  So, buyer beware.

Just as an aside, there is a Circuit City a block from my office and a CompUSA in my building.  I go to each every week or so just to see what's on the shelves.  Circuit City has a deal going right now on Vaios if anyone is interested.  And I have to agree that the new S series, and even the FS series, are beautiful machines that have everything it takes, tech wise, to rock.  I'm just a little skittish on Sony because of past experience with other Sony electronics and the Sony-centric philosophy (like having a Memory Stick slot instead of an SD slot).  I don't buy Apple for the same reason - even though the PowerBook is incredible, it's a closed, largely proprietary system.  Windows isn't the best in a lot of ways, but the largest amount of manufacturers support it and there are widely adopted hardware standards if you need to augment your system.  Sony closes that opening a bit and I'm not too keen on that.

Some interesting opinions here

PT and night school is different - I work with three law students, all going to night school.  they work 9-5, then class at night 4 nights a week.  their lives suck, but the material is spread out over 4 years instead of 3.  one of them did very well his first semester at Hofstra, an A and an A-, so working and night school can be done.  I sure as heck wouldn't recommend doing it during full-time studies though.

As for working as a 2L or 3L, I've heard it can be done and may be necessary if cash is an issue.  However, I would think one might benefit more by filling that extra time with an internship or externship, an opportunity to build a network of job possibilities and get some practical experience.  You might not get paid, but the experience will pay for itself down the road.