LAPTOPS... Best size for law school?

[brandonius]

I've been using a 12" Averatec for undergrad and this baby is freakin' sweet!  Only weighs about 4lbs so I can carry it easily in my backpack.  I also bike to and from school so having the lighter weight is really important.  The keyboard is as good as one on any laptop and the screen is a widescreen that is still even good for watchin' flicks.  I would definitely recommend a 12" laptop for school because it's much easier to have on your desk with other books/folders etc. 

You take your chances with Averatec tho because it's a cheaper brand - mine was only $600 when I bought it a little over a year ago and I've had to send it in for warranty repairs a couple times and the turn around sucks - the first time it was a month and the 2nd time it was 2 and a half weeks.  I may have just been unlucky though.  But other than that it has worked wonderfully for me; it'll even play some games as long as they aren't too graphically intense - its got onboard video.

I'm typin' on it right now =).

[RockShox007]

Just got a 14.1" widescreen lenovo T61 and i LOVE it.... Im also running a 22" lcd in conjunction, for dual monitors, and i also will NEVER go  back to single screen.  It is seriously the best boost for productivity you'll ever get.  I'm also thinking about getting a docking station to run 2 22" lcd's, which would be ideal... Perfect set-up for the classroom and at home.

[duderancher]

Where is a good place to purchase a Lenovo?

[Remedialone]

Where is a good place to purchase a Lenovo?

If you are looking for a Brick and Mortar store your best bet is Best Buy or Office Depot, but if you are comfortable with more nontraditional approaches I recommend Tiger Direct.

[RockShox007]

I got mine direct from Lenovo in less than 7 business days (customized and all...)

[Special Agent Dana Scully]

yea, if you want a thinkpad, i'd suggest ordering from lenovo.  plus, lenovo always has some sale going on anyway.

[wheretogo13]

Get a mac. I have a MacBook Air. It works great. I have a desktop at home for larger projects, etc. Join the revolution, get rid of Windows!

i am pretty set on the air because it is so tiny!! but i'm still maybe thinking about just getting a macbook...do you miss having the cd drive with the air??? also, at my law school, they aren't (as of today) allowing macs in exams unless you have windows loaded onto it. have you had to do this? i don't mind paying for windows to put onto it, but i'm wondering how well it works. the thought of poisoning a mac with windows is scary...the reason i am getting a mac is because windows caused me problem after problem during undergrad!!!

[Futballer]

I recently purchased a 15in macbook pro. I'm new to mac and I love it. Everything is so efficient and easy to learn. You just have to get use to it like all new things. Once you do..you will be happy you made the switch.

[viv]

Get a mac. I have a MacBook Air. It works great. I have a desktop at home for larger projects, etc. Join the revolution, get rid of Windows!

i am pretty set on the air because it is so tiny!! but i'm still maybe thinking about just getting a macbook...do you miss having the cd drive with the air??? also, at my law school, they aren't (as of today) allowing macs in exams unless you have windows loaded onto it. have you had to do this? i don't mind paying for windows to put onto it, but i'm wondering how well it works. the thought of poisoning a mac with windows is scary...the reason i am getting a mac is because windows caused me problem after problem during undergrad!!!

I don't own a mac yet, but I figured I'd give my two cents since I've been researching this the last few days.

I am strongly considering the Air, but I wouldn't consider it if I wasn't already planning to have a desktop at home as my primary machine.  I'm sure you'd be fine as far as the disc drive goes (just get the external drive for about $100 and keep it at home for when you need it).  My main concern for you based on what you wrote is the limited storage space.  This isn't a big deal if you are using the Air as a secondary computer and don't need to store every photo and song and software program on there, but if it is your only computer you will probably need more space than the Air has available.  When you install Windows for BootCamp, you portion out some of your hard drive space to reserve for that. But I guess it depends on how much stuff you have to store, and how you use the computer.

It's probably doable, but a MacBook seems to make much more sense if it's your single and primary computer.  I wish they were prettier and lighter, but it's just a relative deprivation thing after seeing the Air.    MacBooks are sweet machines too!

[wheretogo13]

yeah i know that the air is small. however, the computer i used throughout four years of undergrad was only 37 GB, and right now, I have filled it with 34 GB. So to me, even the Air with the 64 GB is going to seem huge. I have about 11 GB of music on my computer, and I'm not planning to tranfer very much of that. I have all my documents from high school through college on my computer now, and plan to only transfer a few things. Pictures is probably the biggest problem, b/c I do have 12 GB of them on my computer now and would like to transfer them b/c I like having them. So to me, I still think I will just have tons of space...?? How much space would Windows take up??  My mom told me I could get an external hard drive if I start to run out of space...I believe those run between 100 and 200 dollars...

Do you know anything about the difference between the air's 80 GB 4200-rpm PATA hard drive vs. the 64 GB solid-state drive? Obivously the size difference, but do you know what the other stuff means?

Any help you give is appreciated (or good links you know of, since you've been researching!)...I'm not completely computer illiterate, but my mom has always helped me do this stuff and she doesn't know much about apples...