Having a 17 inch laptop for law school?

[jimmyjohn]

Please learn to think for yourself.  It will be a valuable law school skill.

[MiamiLaw]

Please learn to think for yourself.  It will be a valuable law school skill.

thanks for the advice?

[whitearbiter]

It also depends on how your workspace functions. What I mean by that is, how much you tend to sprawl out. I have a 14.1" from Dell but find in some classes, the space gets really cramped when you include your casebook and often times, your supplement, and get stuck with two people right next to you. Just some extra considerations, as those big lecture rooms, depending on class size, can get crowded, hot, and just overall miserable quick.

If you can tolerate the weight though, and you're not walking everywhere, why not?

[MiamiLaw]

It also depends on how your workspace functions. What I mean by that is, how much you tend to sprawl out. I have a 14.1" from Dell but find in some classes, the space gets really cramped when you include your casebook and often times, your supplement, and get stuck with two people right next to you. Just some extra considerations, as those big lecture rooms, depending on class size, can get crowded, hot, and just overall miserable quick.

If you can tolerate the weight though, and you're not walking everywhere, why not?

well apparantly it isn't like college where I will be walking all over campus, from one building to the next. It seems as though all classes are just in the Law building, which I can probably just take a bus to, so I can think of how it would be a huge deal?

[shaz]

bus?? that might be a problem, actually. right now my car is my locker. i can't imagine having to take the bus with 2/3 case books and a 17" notebook. that would probably get old kinda quick.

[MiamiLaw]

bus?? that might be a problem, actually. right now my car is my locker. i can't imagine having to take the bus with 2/3 case books and a 17" notebook. that would probably get old kinda quick.

hmmmm.`

[whitearbiter]

Actually, unless you do find a locker for your stuff, busing is going to suck with a 17" laptop, depending on the amount of busing you intend to do. I mean, again, it boils down to weight tolerance. If you're a big guy, get a big bag and carry things around. But in general, if you're commuting via bus system, from say, your residence to the school, getting a commuter-sized laptop (15.1" at the largest) will save your shoulders, back, and psyche from a lot of ill-willed stress.

[terpsichore]

my 17 inch laptop is the only thing i'd change about my first year of law school.

lugging it around got old but the worst part was cramped workspace in class.

[MiamiLaw]

I traded it in for a good deal on a 15.4 inch widescreen Thinkpad, hopefully that one will be better to carry around

[whitearbiter]

I'd say that a 15.4 wide or a 14.1 wide are prolly the best for the average student, especially if that's going to be your only computer. If you're going to have a desktop to boot, I would've aimed to get a 12.1 if I could afford it. Your back's going to thank you, not to mention enough arm room to place textbooks on the desk.