Forget MAC or PC, what laptop is the best?

[abn319]

If you own a desktop, I'd recommend the MacBook Air. I have one, and it's fantastic. Super light-weight, nice bright screen, and fairly fast. The battery life is great and with all the heavy books, the light weight is worth it. You can install Windows for test-taking, too. That said, if you don't have a desktop it's harder to recommend the air. I use mine almost exclusively, but I do have a desktop to fall back on if I need a CD/DVD Rom, or a little more processing power.

I don't own a desktop at the moment so the air might not be for me. I did go and look at it however, and it is indeed a nice one

[Bob23]

I think depending on what you plan to do with the computer, the Air could be OK on its own. So long as you don't need photoshop, or any heavy applications like that on a regular basis, and don't have 100gb of MP3's, the Air may be OK on its own. It is expensive, though. You can't go wrong with a Regual MacBook, or even a refurbed Pro.

[abn319]

Well I do photography on the side, more of a hobby, so I would like to use photoshop. Although I don't think I will have too much time for photography while in law school 

I am leaning towards the Macbook. I just want to be sure that it won't conflict with law school, i.e. the operating system, etc. I know you can run Windows on it, for the exam software, but can you run Windows Vista? I only mention that because it is the new operating system.

I am going to do some more research with the sites that people have recommended, but your advice helped a lot. Thanks

[abn319]

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?

[jack24]

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?

I purchased a dell xps m1330.  I've had good expiriences in the past with Dell and I got a great discount.  I bought the new LED backlighted screen because it supposedly causes less eye fatigue.   I needed a well equipt notebook that weighed less than 5lbs and this one fit the bill.

My University has a discount program through Apple but I just wasn't ready to ditch PC.  My wife will probably buy a mac for her next computer because she's learning how to do photoshop and video editing.   All the research I've done on the Macbooks seems to show that they make an awesome machine.

[abn319]

I was looking online at the Dell XPS M1330 today. It seems like a great buy!
Thank you for all the advice. I'm not sure if I want to switch from PC yet either. Especially for law school.

[coquita]

Does anyone have any opinions on the mini laptops like the one HP has. I am thinking about it but not sure if it would be a good buy. I don't need tons of hard drive space but I do need a decently fast computer [my toshiba is SO SLOW]. Any advice??

[ColvilleWA]

Does anyone have any opinions on the mini laptops like the one HP has. I am thinking about it but not sure if it would be a good buy. I don't need tons of hard drive space but I do need a decently fast computer [my toshiba is SO SLOW]. Any advice??

I'd love to buy the mini-note and a desktop but I doubt its an ideal solution when it comes exam time.

[coquita]

^^ I figure I can use my toshiba for exams and my mini notebook for everyday. It just seems so much better than lugging around my big toshiba.

[Bob23]

^^ I figure I can use my toshiba for exams and my mini notebook for everyday. It just seems so much better than lugging around my big toshiba.

A MacBook Air, or a Lenovo X300 might be a good compromise, and you don't have to own 2 laptops.