<p>I’ve been taking guides on how to use it. Just recently got it on my desktop to get the feeling of how the program works and it seems to have some nice features that would be great for laptop/tabletpc users at college.</p>
<p>One of the things I found really cool is the ability to record auido/video. This requires you to have a camera of some sort and a microphone as well.</p>
<p>I’m thinking I might just do that. What are some good cameras you can get that mount on to the back of the laptop cover so you can adjust it to face you or in front of you (looking towards the front of the room)? I remember this guy had a nice webcam mounted on his IBM thinkpad at this Cisco Networking event and he was telling us how he used it for video conferences online. (It was part of all these new phone tools that cisco had which were pretty cool.) Where could I find cameras like that that just snap on and off when you want to close the laptop/tabletpc?</p>
<p>Also do most laptops/tabletpcs come with built-in microphones? Are those good enough to record what the professor is saying? Or is it generally better to get an external microphone?</p>
<p>I have the Gateway CX 2724 and got an external microphone. I too have been looking at cams…I found one that I really like at Best Buy, but its a little pricey.</p>
<p>hey kjane, which external microphone did you get for your gateway?? how much was it and where did you get it? also does it have good range? like would i be able to record lectures withe it?? Ive been looking for a good one for a while but just havent been able to find one, thanks for any help…</p>
<p>built in mics are really bad, if you’re far away from your professor chances are it will be hard to pick up. also, some laptops have built in spinning webcams to pick up the laptop user or wheover the user is facing. just some fyi’s</p>
<p>I actually just bought a cheap one from Kmart. I’ve hooked it up and stood far away and talked, and it records just fine. My best advice would be to just look for a mic that swivels on its base, that way you can turn it as the professor moves. I’ve done some experimenting and found that if you move the mic as the speaker moves, it picks up better.</p>
<p>Becareful you don’t spend more time trying to tape a lecture than actually paying attention. Why bother taping something you’ll have to watch again to gain anything from when you could have simply paid attention in the first place and taken a few notes?</p>
<p>I haven’t usually found taping lectures to be all that helpful. I mean, I can get As without it.</p>
<p>HOWEVER, when you tape something, you don’t have to be concentrating on taping it, wev. Haha. You just…let it run. Then you can take notes, or you can sit and listen. In fact, sometimes taking notes screws me up, because I’m writing something, and missing the next thing. </p>
<p>I’m doing a lot of interviews now, interning for a paper, my taperecorder is a freaking blessing. I take notes, too, but it’s always good if you have gaps in the info to just go back and get it filled it right then and there. I imagine taping lectures for a difficult class would be the same. Instant gap filling. Also taperecorders are good for quotes, but that doesn’t really have anything to do with lectures, so.</p>
<p>What’s awesome is that with OneNote you can actually create a button that fastforwards you to the exact point in the audio you want to listen to. So it’s even better than taperecorders.</p>
<p>I just bought a creative webcam at best buy tonight. It has clips, so it attaches to the laptop. I got the Live! Cam Notebook Pro. It ran me $49.99, but I had reward card coupons and a gift card.</p>