What is best for college?

[J.Pulumbarit]

I am getting ready for college next semester. I am having trouble deciding what is best for me and what will help me the most in college. I was thinking of getting something like a smartphone/pda/laptop/ ultra mobile pc, something to that effect. i have considered the differences and pros and cons such as portability and cost and stuff like that. i would use them for stuff like taking notes in class if prof allowed or recording lectures and stuff. also, i would like to work on things outside of school and also outside of the apt, such as places like a coffee shop. i was just wondering on the opinion of other people, maybe even college students and what they use/think is best. thanks in advance.

[MkfIbK7a]

my father owns one of these

http://www.amazon.com/Cingular-8125-PDA-Phone/dp/B000FENIIW

he is constantly controlling his servers from there and recieving email and taking pitures

check it out!

[Garyu]

Personally, I am going to invest some money in buying a "OLPC" (one laptop per child) when they come out to the public. For $200 I get one battery-free WiFi laptop and at the same time I am sponsoring a child in a developing country with his/her own laptop.

Read more here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6246989.stm

[prizrak]

I would advise a laptop or a convertible (tablet+laptop) if you are into graphics and handwriting. PDA/UMPC is pretty much useless for notetaking and other school stuff. Midrange laptops tend to be the best for students with general needs since they are normally fast enough to handle the "usual" tasks and portable enough so that you actually feel like bringing them. Tablet/convertibles tend to be better if you want audio recording than normal laptops but it's very model specific.

I would suggest support System76 (http://www.system76.com) if you have the money. They sell Ubuntu preloaded laptops.

[Brunellus]

Personally, I am going to invest some money in buying a "OLPC" (one laptop per child) when they come out to the public. For $200 I get one battery-free WiFi laptop and at the same time I am sponsoring a child in a developing country with his/her own laptop.

Read more here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6246989.stm
the OLPC would be nice, but their delivery to "first-world" buyers on the basis you describe is not yet confirmed.

To the OP: What you get will depend on your living arrangements. If you're pressed for space, then I'd go for a laptop. If you have space, then I'd go for the most powerful desktop you can afford combined with teh cheapest, lightest laptop you can stand. If you're pressed for budget--get an old laptop.

I used to take all my notes longhand and only write essays on the laptop. That had as much to do with the fact that the laptop weighed something like 4 kg!

[agurk]

If you're planning on studying things like mathematics, physics or chemistry, you'll have to draw a lot, which pretty much rules out anything but ordinary paper and pencils. You simply won't have time to take notes on a laptop during lectures, complete with diagrams, math symbols and stuff. My advise is to give it a couple of weeks without any electronic gadgets before deciding.

[teet]

I really enjoy using this notebook: notebook (http://www.indiana.edu/~libpres/manual/materials/matimages/notebook.jpg)

It's lightweight, ultraportable, runs really cool, is durable, and doesn't use much energy. It's really easy to draw diagrams, take notes, and the such. Plus it easily fits in my bag!

I don't know how you could get through undergrad without one!

-teet

[mips]

IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad X series.

[olejorgen]

Tablet or pen and paper.

Seriously, do you really need a laptop/organizer?

[weatherman]

paper, pencils and lot of motivation. If you want to spend some money on hardware and if you're going to study for example computer science or math invest in a good processor.
What I think I noticed is that as classes get more and more advanced you see less and less people with laptops during class. They're probably more distracting than useful.
As others said give it a few months, then decide.

[J.Pulumbarit]

ok well maybe i wont be using them to take notes in class but i sure would like something to work with outside of the classroom when im not at home.