AdmissionsDaniel

There is actually a very in-depth discussion thread about purchasing a computer for Hopkins ... and also discusses the questions of whether students use laptops in class (pretty much they don't!):

Hopkins Forums -> Computer Questions

flybyzephyr

i know for sure that i definitely won't be bringing a desktop from minnesota. so, it's a laptop not for notes, but for portability and convenience. thanks for all the input

Johnson181

I go to a laptop high school (where we own our own and take notes on in most of our classes), so I would probably be one of the few in every class using it. Paper and pen just seems too weird to me now (our math teacher even emails us the notes).

As to the mac/pc debate, is it common for engineering students to have macs? I've been trying to decide if it would be worth it to switch from my dell to a mac.

efx2k3

there is a good percentage of students with macs here. both windows and mac OS's are compatible at hopkins so its a matter of preference. i am a comp sci major so im used to xp, vista, os x, and ubuntu and to tell you the truth, youll get used to either. they all have their ups and downs and thats the reason why i used all 3.

i should tell you that if you do purchase a mac, it comes with bootcamp, where you can install windows vista or xp on it. in essence, youll have a mac and windows system on one laptop. its a very attractive option for purchasing a mac.

i personally have a dell xps m1210, which is for gaming and portability. recently i decided to get another laptop (b/c my dell is getting old). it is the hp tx1000z. it was fairly inexpensive ($999) but it is very portable, comes with vista, attractive features and it is also a tablet pc. it really helps with notes and stuff.. plus it just looks cool. i also installed ubuntu on it.

so.. simply, either mac or a vista machine will do the job. i think its just a matter of preference.

AdamJaz

"im used to xp, vista, os x, and ubuntu ... all 3."

So, essentially, vista doesn't constitute an operating system :P ?

efx2k3

it hogs system resources and stuff. the 1 billion microsoft spent on it? haha nah i wont acknowledge it as one.

i mean come on... playing halo 2 for pc on xp is 30% faster than on vista. progress should breed better performance!

Phead128

I friendly advise on laptops.

Do not skimp on price.
Do not skimp on performance.
Do not skimp on weight.

XPS M1530 and XPS M1330 are the two best laptops outhere if you want lightweight and mobility without sacrificing power and performance.

NJ_mother

I should have been checking back sooner.
Anyone compare Bootcamp to parallels? have an educator copy of Parallels, so can legally put it on up to 3 macs.

orpheus2708

well from what i understand, parallels is program which allows you to use another OS while booted into OSX. Normally, such a program requires a decent amount of ram, and a fairly effective processor.

Bootcamp, on the other hand is essentially a dual boot system, allowing you to choose whether to boot into either OS (Windows or OSX is normally the options).

Bottom Line, if you want to be in OSX and Windows at the same time, use Parallels. If your only going to be in one at a time, use bootcamp.

NJ_mother

Thanks Orpheus. Glad I chose parallels then.

megsy1990

I'm going to buy a Macbook Pro, more than likely. I don't like the Macbook. It's a little underpowered in the graphics department for my wants. Plus, I need some sort of Unix operating system, be it Linux, BSD, OS X, Solaris, or something else. It's just where I feel at home. I can't stand Windows and am not used to that style of computing anymore.

I use virtualization software to work on some Gentoo stuff, but I don't think it's a viable solution. If you're using OS X or another Unix operating system, then you may want to look at WINE or the commercial version of it called Crossover Office (or Crossover Games). WINE is a reverse engineered implementation of the Windows API and ABI layers on a Unix operating system. It started out on Linux, and it's fully open source. These days WINE is in beta stage, and it's stable. It runs many many applications without a hitch. Only WINE requires that you use the command line. There are some GUI frontends for it, but this is where Crossover Office comes in. Codeweaver (company developing CXOffice) take a version of WINE and add in their own tweaks and features. They then package their own elegant GUI frontend and sell it for $40 I believe. It is some of the most useful software I've seen, and it runs many many Windows applications on a Unix operating system without a hitch. Granted, sometimes the applications don't look aesthetically pleasing, but that's really a non-issue if you're looking for productivity without the pain of rebooting.

http://www.winehq.org/
http://www.codeweavers.com/

NJ_mother

Don't have to reboot using Parallels and the software is nearly all graphics. Special imaging software for a laser-based cell imaging machine in the lab.
The computer is an Intel iMac. Wish this one software package were mac-native, have another laser cell analyzer, the software packages I use for that one are all Mac-native.

efx2k3

i am a computer science major so ive had my fair share of getting the right stuff for my needs. i actually can triple boot using my hp (not xps) with vista, tiger and ubuntu. its really easy to do and recommend it to anyone needing a unix system.

996GT2

Hmm right now I've got it down to the Lenovo Thinkpad X61, Sony Vaio SZ, and Dell XPS M1330...going to wait a little longer to see if better discounts come out.

FYI, all of the major laptop makers will be releasing new notebook lines in early June with Intel's new Montevino (Centrino 2 VPro) platform. So if you're looking for the latest technology and don't mind paying a little more, you might want to wait another month.

I know Lenovo in particular will be releasing several new lines, including a W series, X200, and refreshed T and R series. The new Thinkpad T series is supposed to be equipped with an LED backlit screen for better brightness/battery life and switchable ATI HD3600 graphics.

OldOldMan

This is the 2nd time around for us on the laptop for college. Actually, ordered laptop today.
As we are to some degree limited financially, so the graduation present is a laptop. As the the kids did quite well with financial aid and scholarship money there was no holding back (at least to my financial standards). The nonexistant downside to giving as a graduation present is not being able to shop the college IT selections. In looking afterwards 2 years ago (at Penn's It shop) and at what is currently posted at JHU shop, I think I got a slightly better deal. I work IT and am very comfortable with the selections made as I did shop very, very hard both times.

This year's shopping went like this. I shopped IBM/Lenovo, HP, Dell, Toshiba. Apple and Sony though very nice products, I believe are overpriced and do not at all offer "good value".
Lenovo recently cut way back on its actual Lenovo offerings, making the IBM the models to look at. The T61 models are a decent value and were the second choice this time (bought Lenovo 2 years ago).
Dell, though a value in their low end servers, do make it difficult (just like 2 years ago) to comparison shop. More difficult to pin down specs. Also, price seems to jump around a bit. If you like them and the price jumps up, wait a week and it will probably come back down.
Toshiba, the young gamers I work with, seem to favor them, but my price to feature benefit analysis couldn't get them above 3rd place as a student PC.
This year, it will be a HP 6710b (RM406UT). But not bought directly from HP. Put RM406UT into a pricegrabber.com search and you will find the exact same product from a reseller at a discounted price with free shipping and no sales tax (probably possible with other models and some mfr's). Now the HP come w/ wide screens which they didn't 2 years ago. Also, in conferring with my current student, other young people that travel, and the gamers, the 15 - 15.4 screen is good for those who use a laptop as their main computer though certainly subject to debate. The HP business class laptops (which this is one) comes standard with a 3 year warranty), the others all have one year standard. My students are not gamers, so the models selected have the shared graphics card rather than a discrete graphics card. It comes with Vista business downgraded to XP business which means it does have vista disks (actually the HP restore disks) but loaded with xp (I think, will know for sure at the end of the month). Also, purchased the Office 2007 (pro, academic) from viosoftware.com. Weird but you get a better price through pricegrabber.com than searching their own website. Will install AVG free antivirus software, unsure of what anti-spyware software will be used.
The company ordered through was a first time purchase so until the unit is received and opened (after graduation) I don't feel comfortable recommending them.