ATAR Notes: Forum
Uni Stuff => Universities - Victoria => University of Melbourne => Topic started by: VivaTequila on June 30, 2012, 08:30:50 pm
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Hey guys,
Basically been seeing all the people in lectures with their laptops, and it looks like a highly efficient way of learning information. I never have used written notes, and the same stood for first semester. I wrote everything down in lectures, and then abandoned it. All through year 12, I used a (now ancient) laptop, and it was much more efficient for taking notes etc.
I was wondering if you personally find using a laptop in lectures useful, particularly in 2nd year Chemistry/Biology subjects? Would you recommend it for someone who already uses computers to learn much more efficiently than bookwork?
Basically the only reason I can't see it being practical is because it's hard to copy down information that is to do with mathematical formulae, etc, so hence I'm asking to see what you think. If I was doing an arts degree, it'd be a no-brainer and I'd have bought one at the start of the year.
Also, where do you guys find netbooks other than jb/dick smith, because neither of those have these in stock:
Samsung N110 (Netbook)
Samsung N120 (Netbook)
Acer Aspire One AOD150 (Netbook) (only ~$290)
Asus Eee PC 1000HE
Dell Inspiron Mini 1018 (looks swag)
Asus Eee PC Seashell 1015PE
Toshiba NB250
Acer Aspire (looks swag)
Samsung NF210 (10hr Battery)
Toshiba NB550D (10hr Battery)
Samsung N230 (supposedly 14hr battery)
Cheers for insight
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Well I have a mac, easy to carry around as it's only an 11 inch macbook air. I thought it was much easier to stay organised by making a bunch of uni folders. Only used it really for lectures and kept hand written notes for tutorials (mainly because of formulae etc for what you've said and the internet connection is awful in redmond barry for bio tutorials). When I came to the organic chemistry section for chem I just kept handwritten notes for that too. So I think having lecture notes on the laptop is useful since it's easy to refer back to, all you have to do is search for it on the laptop. So I take it you're not into macs?
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I have 11" ZENbook from ASUS. Won it thanks to Monash. It's pretty good.
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Well I have a mac, easy to carry around as it's only an 11 inch macbook air. I thought it was much easier to stay organised by making a bunch of uni folders. Only used it really for lectures and kept hand written notes for tutorials (mainly because of formulae etc for what you've said and the internet connection is awful in redmond barry for bio tutorials). When I came to the organic chemistry section for chem I just kept handwritten notes for that too. So I think having lecture notes on the laptop is useful since it's easy to refer back to, all you have to do is search for it on the laptop. So I take it you're not into macs?
The laptops on that list make me cringe :(
If you're looking for portability, low cost, and a way to write mathematical formulae easily, perhaps you should consider an iPad? I have to admit that I discounted them as serious study tools but since convincing myself to get one I say otherwise. It's obviously not the place to do the majority of any research papers you get in Science, but it is a great tool for lecture annotation, note taking, research and more. And it's built thoughtfully unlike any of the computers on that list.
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Well I have a mac, easy to carry around as it's only an 11 inch macbook air. I thought it was much easier to stay organised by making a bunch of uni folders. Only used it really for lectures and kept hand written notes for tutorials (mainly because of formulae etc for what you've said and the internet connection is awful in redmond barry for bio tutorials). When I came to the organic chemistry section for chem I just kept handwritten notes for that too. So I think having lecture notes on the laptop is useful since it's easy to refer back to, all you have to do is search for it on the laptop. So I take it you're not into macs?
The laptops on that list make me cringe :(
If you're looking for portability, low cost, and a way to write mathematical formulae easily, perhaps you should consider an iPad? I have to admit that I discounted them as serious study tools but since convincing myself to get one I say otherwise. It's obviously not the place to do the majority of any research papers you get in Science, but it is a great tool for lecture annotation, note taking, research and more. And it's built thoughtfully unlike any of the computers on that list.
What's wrong with the laptops on the list? They're all pretty sweet for battery life.
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Well I have a mac, easy to carry around as it's only an 11 inch macbook air. I thought it was much easier to stay organised by making a bunch of uni folders. Only used it really for lectures and kept hand written notes for tutorials (mainly because of formulae etc for what you've said and the internet connection is awful in redmond barry for bio tutorials). When I came to the organic chemistry section for chem I just kept handwritten notes for that too. So I think having lecture notes on the laptop is useful since it's easy to refer back to, all you have to do is search for it on the laptop. So I take it you're not into macs?
The laptops on that list make me cringe :(
If you're looking for portability, low cost, and a way to write mathematical formulae easily, perhaps you should consider an iPad? I have to admit that I discounted them as serious study tools but since convincing myself to get one I say otherwise. It's obviously not the place to do the majority of any research papers you get in Science, but it is a great tool for lecture annotation, note taking, research and more. And it's built thoughtfully unlike any of the computers on that list.
What's wrong with the laptops on the list? They're all pretty sweet for battery life.
Try using them; shoddy trackpads, poor keyboards, too small / low-res screens, bloatware from manufacturers, and general ugliness, amongst other things.
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Laptops aren't necessary. Printed lecture notes + hand writing is all that is needed for science.
For netbooks, just get the cheapest you can find (deals have them going for <$200 every now and then). I use one and once you get used to the trackpad and keyboard it isn't too bad. If you care about bloatware then install a fresh operating system (ideally not Windows 7 Starter) and it should be fine.
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I use a laptop in every class! I like that it's more efficient. Sometimes I use my iPad but mostly for like, anatomy when I want to label slides. I'm the most disorganized person ever so if I just used handwritten notes I would lose them all. I find its more efficient for me to take notes and then review the slides when I'm summarizing after a lecture, that way you're more likely to process information actively. If I do write on the slides in lectures I can never understand anything I've written down anyway. SO I HIGHLY RECOMMEND, even though I feel like people are staring at me for writing so much...
I have a hp and it's a true laptop, not a netbook. It's pretty old now because i got it in 2010 when o first started at uni. I didn't get a netbook because I was planning for my exchange and didn't want poor processing power and ram when all I have to use is my laptop in my dorm and no desktop like I have at home. I guess each to their own. My friend got a MacBook air and that looks super good for uni, and my brother has that acer ultra book thing. I don't think it matters which you buy really, but if you're gonna get a full laptop I recommend one without a cd drive. My laptop is super light and relatively thin for its age because it has no drive, and it still has a 13 inch screen and only cost like 1k. I use an external cd drive if I ever have to use CDs, which is rare these days anyway...
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Well I have a mac, easy to carry around as it's only an 11 inch macbook air. I thought it was much easier to stay organised by making a bunch of uni folders. Only used it really for lectures and kept hand written notes for tutorials (mainly because of formulae etc for what you've said and the internet connection is awful in redmond barry for bio tutorials). When I came to the organic chemistry section for chem I just kept handwritten notes for that too. So I think having lecture notes on the laptop is useful since it's easy to refer back to, all you have to do is search for it on the laptop. So I take it you're not into macs?
The laptops on that list make me cringe :(
If you're looking for portability, low cost, and a way to write mathematical formulae easily, perhaps you should consider an iPad? I have to admit that I discounted them as serious study tools but since convincing myself to get one I say otherwise. It's obviously not the place to do the majority of any research papers you get in Science, but it is a great tool for lecture annotation, note taking, research and more. And it's built thoughtfully unlike any of the computers on that list.
Problem is, with a iPad, if they do use it for maths, it's going to be difficult to run MATLAB or Mathematica.
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If you're going to get a notebook, get a proper one. Personally, I find that it's convenient to carry a notebook around uni in general, even though I don't go to lectures because I carry all my books, files, music and just basically everything on it, so wherever you are, in the library, on the bus/train, or whatever, it's like having your personal office with you.
I also have the Desktop at home + Laptop setup, which is actually quite good, but I still got a quality laptop instead of a cheap netbook which is a pain to use. I agree with Lex, if you're want something cheap and don't want to spend much, get an iPad or another tablet. Kogan has the Agora, a 10 inch Android tablet going for $179, which is a reasonably good device, also good to look at is Samsung's Galaxy Tab 2 which is currently cheaper than the iPad (can get it on Kogan).
If you're willing to spend though, I'd suggest getting a previous generation ultrabook, you can pick up some good Sandy Bridge bargains at clearance prices at stores like MSY.
The ACER Hummingbird S3-951 2364G34iss is $599 at MSY, and it has a proper Intel Core i3 processor, which is good enough for day-to-day use at uni, and is far better than any Atom-based netbook.
Just Ctrl-F "S3-951 2364G34iss" in this document and you'll find it http://www.msy.com.au/Parts/notebook.pdf
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http://shop.myer.com.au/shop/ProductDisplay?storeId=10251&urlLangId=-1&productId=21241&urlRequestType=Base&langId=-1&catalogId=10051
Was planning on getting this '08 Samsung NC10 which features 8Hrs battery life, it's $370 from Myer, and it's specs are
1.66GHz Intel Atom processor
1GB memory
250GB hard drive*
Windows 7 Starter
@Above are the Atom processors REALLY that bad? I want to capitalize on battery life, but not if it's going to render me unable to do the most basics of tasks.
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Yes, they are really that bad, I had an Atom computer once.
I still don't understand why you're willing to spend $370 on that computer and not chuck up around $230 more for that computer which I pointed out in my last post.
Trust me, you'll want something that will last you a few years as well as something which won't be frustrating to use, cause guess what, if it's frustrating to use, you won't use it :P
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Atom processors aren't terribad, they're just not designed for doing anything other than basic tasks.
http://www.jbhifi.com.au/computers/hp/pavilion-11-inch-notebook-sku-75684/ is a decent compromise, mostly since it lets you stay away from MSY
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mostly since it lets you stay away from MSY
What's wrong with MSY? And don't say the old "bad customer service" or "long queues" - they do sell things for cheaper, so it's the price you pay I guess
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I want to keep my budget to a minimum because all I'll be using it for is charging devices, writing notes, and surfing the net at uni. I have a PC at home for everything else.
The Acer Aspire One is on sale for $350 at Myer until July 16th, I think I might get that.
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Well if it helps at Centrecom, they're having this amazing deal
http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/Centre_Com_Warehouse&Stores_Sale_Extended.pdf
Toshiba Satellite Pro C850, buy one get one free for $649.
Essentially what you're getting is a pretty good computer, far better than any netbook. I'm willing to go half-half with you on that, so I'll pay $325 and keep one and you pay $325 and keep the other one, how does that sound?
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What's wrong with MSY? And don't say the old "bad customer service" or "long queues" - they do sell things for cheaper, so it's the price you pay I guess
Why not? They're absolute atrocious at it and they've been successfully sued for illegal business practices, so I don't see why it's not a valid criticism.
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Why not? They're absolute atrocious at it and they've been successfully sued for illegal business practices, so I don't see why it's not a valid criticism.
OK I don't know about the illegal business practices, but bad customer service I can live with, like, if I can save $50+ going to them as opposed to another store, I'd be willing to put up with bad customer service for that saving, plus, it's like a one minute drive from Monash Uni, so it's really convenient for me, going at around 2-3PM on a weekday means basically no queues as well.
Btw, what illegal business practices are these? I've never heard of this before! haha D:
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I use a Tab for Uni. Not a boring ol' iPad though. Using an Asus Transformer Prime. The price is a bit steep but it's amazing to carry around. The one I bought came with the keyboard which you can attach to the tablet and it becomes a hybrid laptop. The keyboard also has it's own power supply thus your battery life is amazing. I can easily get over 12 hours of usage from it.
It also can edit/create Powerpoint, Excel and Word documents along with have .pdf apps that allow you to annotate it.
Also, being a tab, I find it much easier to use as a "notebook" expecially when reading stuff on the trains/trams
EDIT: I'm in Biomed btw. I do still keep pen and paper on me though, for any math-sy stuff.
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The thing with the Transformer Prime is that if you're spending that much to get it with the keyboard dock (it's around 700, if I remember correctly), then you might as well just get a laptop :P
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Btw, what illegal business practices are these? I've never heard of this before! haha D:
Google "ACCC MSY case" or something similar.
They were basically just lying to customers over warranty iirc
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I use a Tab for Uni. Not a boring ol' iPad though. Using an Asus Transformer Prime. The price is a bit steep but it's amazing to carry around. The one I bought came with the keyboard which you can attach to the tablet and it becomes a hybrid laptop. The keyboard also has it's own power supply thus your battery life is amazing. I can easily get over 12 hours of usage from it.
It also can edit/create Powerpoint, Excel and Word documents along with have .pdf apps that allow you to annotate it.
Also, being a tab, I find it much easier to use as a "notebook" expecially when reading stuff on the trains/trams
EDIT: I'm in Biomed btw. I do still keep pen and paper on me though, for any math-sy stuff.
Isn't the Asus Transformer Prime running on Android? If so, you need an app to edit create Powerpoint/Word files, yeah?
EDIT: Like Quickoffice Pro or Polaris?
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http://www.jbhifi.com.au/computers/hp/pavilion-11-inch-notebook-sku-75684/ is a decent compromise, mostly since it lets you stay away from MSY
I got this notebook a couple of months back and i have to say it is very good for the price. It has the power of a notebook but size of a netbook. I paid $350 for it when they were having a big sale, i think they're like $385 or something now. The processor in this is suppose to be much better than an atom and it is from my experience as we also have an asus eepc in the house. It can run multiple tabs/windows of IE/Chrome, with a couple of word documents and/or pdfs in the background. If you're playing music/itunes simultaneously with the above processes then it will push it to limit of its performance, but still capable of doing it. Also you can upgrade the RAM on this for a small price i think it's $29 or so for a 4gb ram so if yuo chuck that in it will run very well from what i've read.
I think it's a great thing to have for uni very convenient and powerful as it gets the job done very well!
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I use a Tab for Uni. Not a boring ol' iPad though. Using an Asus Transformer Prime. The price is a bit steep but it's amazing to carry around. The one I bought came with the keyboard which you can attach to the tablet and it becomes a hybrid laptop. The keyboard also has it's own power supply thus your battery life is amazing. I can easily get over 12 hours of usage from it.
It also can edit/create Powerpoint, Excel and Word documents along with have .pdf apps that allow you to annotate it.
Also, being a tab, I find it much easier to use as a "notebook" expecially when reading stuff on the trains/trams
EDIT: I'm in Biomed btw. I do still keep pen and paper on me though, for any math-sy stuff.
Isn't the Asus Transformer Prime running on Android? If so, you need an app to edit create Powerpoint/Word files, yeah?
EDIT: Like Quickoffice Pro or Polaris?
Yeah it is on Android but it comes with Polaris installed.
I suppose getting a Laptop would be a more logical thing to do but because I already have one at home, I thought having something else
would be better. I don't know why but reading pdf's on a laptop is just painful...
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http://www.jbhifi.com.au/computers/hp/pavilion-11-inch-notebook-sku-75684/ is a decent compromise, mostly since it lets you stay away from MSY
I got this notebook a couple of months back and i have to say it is very good for the price. It has the power of a notebook but size of a netbook. I paid $350 for it when they were having a big sale, i think they're like $385 or something now. The processor in this is suppose to be much better than an atom and it is from my experience as we also have an asus eepc in the house. It can run multiple tabs/windows of IE/Chrome, with a couple of word documents and/or pdfs in the background. If you're playing music/itunes simultaneously with the above processes then it will push it to limit of its performance, but still capable of doing it. Also you can upgrade the RAM on this for a small price i think it's $29 or so for a 4gb ram so if yuo chuck that in it will run very well from what i've read.
I think it's a great thing to have for uni very convenient and powerful as it gets the job done very well!
Great advice, but I'm a bit worried because I think that the specs on it wouldn't bode well with the one thing I need it for: battery life.
I have a great PC at home for everything I could possibly need a computer to do; all I need is battery life for uni. That's why I'm being such a pedant with selecting a netbook.
Does anyone know where to buy netbooks, anyway? JB Hi-Fi and Dick Smith only have a very limited range, and I found a better deal on a better netbook at Myer. That's right, at Myer... I can't find anything good at Harvey Norman either, so what are other retailers?
I've pretty much given up the idea of finding what I want online, because no retailers are likely to stock the netbook. Instead, I've resigned to the fact that I'm going to have to buy from what stores have in stock unless I decide I want to order the netbook blind without testing it out first.
Mavisgibbons and others, do you bring your laptop chargers to uni? Do you find yourself always finding charging points relatively easily? Maybe a compromise on the battery life in exchange for the ease of finding a laptop that meets my expectations would be better, provided bringing a charger isn't too much of a drainer.
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I highly recommend the Lenovo Thinkpad series, such as the Edge.
Link
Great battery life and built very well.
I personally use my HP Touchsmart tm2 and love it, laptop that converts to a tablet (turning the screen) that runs Windows 7.
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That's out of my budget D: they look really good too...
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The Pavillion 11inch will have very good battery, it's pretty much a low power laptop.
But OK, I'll shut up after this post, but do not buy a netbook, you will regret it when it takes around 15 seconds for word to load when you already have Chrome open. It will take another 10 seconds for iTunes to start and will take like 5 minutes to boot.
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Mavisgibbons and others, do you bring your laptop chargers to uni? Do you find yourself always finding charging points relatively easily? Maybe a compromise on the battery life in exchange for the ease of finding a laptop that meets my expectations would be better, provided bringing a charger isn't too much of a drainer.
There are always charging points around at Monash anyway, not sure about Melbourne, but I don't bring my charger, purely based on the fact that I basically don't need to
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http://www.jbhifi.com.au/computers/hp/pavilion-11-inch-notebook-sku-75684/ is a decent compromise, mostly since it lets you stay away from MSY
I got this notebook a couple of months back and i have to say it is very good for the price. It has the power of a notebook but size of a netbook. I paid $350 for it when they were having a big sale, i think they're like $385 or something now. The processor in this is suppose to be much better than an atom and it is from my experience as we also have an asus eepc in the house. It can run multiple tabs/windows of IE/Chrome, with a couple of word documents and/or pdfs in the background. If you're playing music/itunes simultaneously with the above processes then it will push it to limit of its performance, but still capable of doing it. Also you can upgrade the RAM on this for a small price i think it's $29 or so for a 4gb ram so if yuo chuck that in it will run very well from what i've read.
I think it's a great thing to have for uni very convenient and powerful as it gets the job done very well!
Great advice, but I'm a bit worried because I think that the specs on it wouldn't bode well with the one thing I need it for: battery life.
I have a great PC at home for everything I could possibly need a computer to do; all I need is battery life for uni. That's why I'm being such a pedant with selecting a netbook.
Does anyone know where to buy netbooks, anyway? JB Hi-Fi and Dick Smith only have a very limited range, and I found a better deal on a better netbook at Myer. That's right, at Myer... I can't find anything good at Harvey Norman either, so what are other retailers?
I've pretty much given up the idea of finding what I want online, because no retailers are likely to stock the netbook. Instead, I've resigned to the fact that I'm going to have to buy from what stores have in stock unless I decide I want to order the netbook blind without testing it out first.
Mavisgibbons and others, do you bring your laptop chargers to uni? Do you find yourself always finding charging points relatively easily? Maybe a compromise on the battery life in exchange for the ease of finding a laptop that meets my expectations would be better, provided bringing a charger isn't too much of a drainer.
I bring my charger only when i'm at uni for long hours (e.g. 8-9)
Otherwise if I charge my laptop the night before and adjust the brightness at uni, it lasts long.
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That battery life on that HP dm1 is pretty good, when i first tested it it lasted for 7~ hours - this is with low battery properties. If you're not using the net turn off the wifi, bluetooth etc
You would want to make sure the unnecessary background programs are turned off from startup so the only things that are running are word, adobe, chrome etc.
If you're at uni browsing the net and doing work w/o a charger the battery will still last a solid 3 1/2 - 4 hours, provided it's on battery saving option.
At melbourne there are heaps of power points esp. if you're in the library or commerce buildings.
I normally only bring my laptop if i have a break during the day or plan to stay back after my classes are done. I don't use it for lectures, i stick with the lecture slides printed out and annotating them.
Check centrecom: http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/default.php they normally have a wide range of laptops. I actually bought this beast - Asus N53S: 750gb HDD, 8gb ram, i7 (2nd gen), 1gb nvidia graphics, 17inch for $999 after christmas! It's bloody amazing, i intended to use this for uni... LOL. I took it to uni most days for like 3-4 weeks and just gave up. It was too heavy and i didn't want to risk breaking the hard drive or anything by lugging it around everyday.
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Does anyone recommend the asus ultrabook series for uni? Or have had any experience with the brand? Thanks
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I use one and I can recommend it. They're pricey but what you get is pretty top quality. Avoid the i7 version because you don't need it. The 13inch screen is really what you want, I find 11 inch screens are a bit cramped, especially at that resolution.
The SSD makes everything work extremely quickly, I use OneNote for my classes and it's completely lag free etc. even with importing pdf notes and screen clippings
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Does anyone recommend the asus ultrabook series for uni? Or have had any experience with the brand? Thanks
I don't have one personally, but just from being a tech-head and from knowing friends who have that computer, I reckon they are quite solid. They're probably pricey for what they're worth, basically because you're paying for the design and thinness really, but specs are decent. The Intel ULV CPUs which they have are probably not as strong as a full blown laptop CPU, but they should be sufficient for your needs nonetheless.
For example, my i5 is around as powerful as the i7 ULV chip. As Russ (or whatever he's known as these days) have said, you won't need the i7, as the i5 should be enough for your needs and the premium isn't worth it, especially because the ULV i7 is still a dual-core, not a quad-core.
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I got the Samsung NC110. I'll update this and let you know if I find it useful. ATM it's proving very easy to set up and I'm getting all the files and stuff that I'll want on there now.