laptop needed for law student?

dynamot

i'll be studying law with history, and was wondering is a laptop is necessary for this field of study? Thanks in advance

Joneser

I don't do Law myself but if you have the money for it I highly recommend getting one, not having to queue for computers is such a stress saver and being able to work on assignments on the bus/train and then just print it off when you arrive in UCD is very handy. Hopefully a Law student will reply but just wanted to give you my 2 cents

Rothmans

dynamot wrote: »

i'll be studying law with history, and was wondering is a laptop is necessary for this field of study? Thanks in advance

In addition to the reasons Joneser mentioned, I'd reccomend a laptop. It will make studying so much easier as you can search for any case on lexis.com or westlaw.com ( online legal databases ) anytime you wanted. You can have access to the lecture material on Blackboard anytime you want. This is both very handy in lectures and in the period approaching the exam because all the material you need to study is given to you on Blackboard. Additionally, there are many cases you much read. By having a laptop you don't have to waste effort and money by printing out loads and loads of sheets.

It's just so much easier having a laptop

lemon_sherbert

You can get by in law lectures without one, but echoing the earlier posters, I'd recommend one. You only need something basic, word processing and internet access. Very handy for reading journal articles and cases and pretty indispensable when it comes to writing up essays and printing if you don't have facilities at home.

So, you can survive without one, but if you can swing it, a basic laptop will make life a lot easier for you.

RichTea

Highly recommend one. It's not essential but pretty close to it.

Annasopra

I heard that UCDSU or UCD have discounts on laptops - anyone know anything about this?

Implosiony

Similar question!

I have a relatively clunky laptop (15.6 inch screen).

Would it be worth my money buying a cheap notebook laptop (10inch-ish) for bringing into college everyday? Or will the larger one be ok?

Any advice would be great.

errlloyd

Roebuck is a ****ing trek from campus. But whats most important is battery life, in my experience screen size is inversely proportional to battery life.

Blacey

Implosiony wrote: »

Similar question!

I have a relatively clunky laptop (15.6 inch screen).

Would it be worth my money buying a cheap notebook laptop (10inch-ish) for bringing into college everyday? Or will the larger one be ok?

Any advice would be great.

I have a tiny little netbook, 8.9 inch screen. It's great for taking notes in lectures, but not so great for doing assignments on - you need a larger screen and keyboard to be anyway comfortable for longer periods of work. If you don't mind lugging your laptop around all day, then don't bother getting a smaller one, but if you do, then it might be worth it to either get a netbook for taking notes, or just take notes on paper and leave the laptop at home for assignments/random web surfing.

Blacey

lemon_sherbert wrote: »

You can get by in law lectures without one, but echoing the earlier posters, I'd recommend one. You only need something basic, word processing and internet access. Very handy for reading journal articles and cases and pretty indispensable when it comes to writing up essays and printing if you don't have facilities at home.

So, you can survive without one, but if you can swing it, a basic laptop will make life a lot easier for you.

seconded.

The Agogo

People really only want large screens for entertainment media.

Netbook + Projector = Sorted

Stay well away from Délls that do be going around that part of UCD this time of year though.

Worst decision of my Freshers' Week

Blacey

The Agogo wrote: »

People really only want large screens for entertainment media.

Netbook + Projector = Sorted

Stay well away from Délls that do be going around that part of UCD this time of year though.

Worst decision of my Freshers' Week

The larger screen is not the only advantage of a larger laptop - keyboard size is important too. Netbooks can be difficult to type on for long periods of time! Definitely stay away from the UCD 'offers' and shop around yourself,

Annasopra

Blacey wrote: »

The larger screen is not the only advantage of a larger laptop - keyboard size is important too. Netbooks can be difficult to type on for long periods of time! Definitely stay away from the UCD 'offers' and shop around yourself,

are the offers crap?

The Agogo

They break down exactly one year after purchase. They're as slow as hell, very unreliable, heavy to carry, poor battery times...and with no sign of improvement.

If you're buying I'd recommend HP for the PC lover and well, obviously Mac for the 'cool artsy' student.

In Déll's case, you don't get what you pay for so yes the offers are shi'ite.

Blacey

Johnnymcg wrote: »

are the offers crap?

It's usually Dell, and I've had nothing but trouble with Dell computers

here.from.day.1

A laptop will make your life easier if you can afford one.

Whilst the UCD offers may not be good that does not mean you should rule out Dell at all. I have bought\supplied\supported many Servers\Net\Notebooks\Desktops and after all the years Dell are the least trouble from the main brands.

Dell Outlet is usually the way to go for a good deal.

And no I do not work for them, I actually work for one of their main competitors.

Jev/N

The Agogo wrote: »

They break down exactly one year after purchase. They're as slow as hell, very unreliable, heavy to carry, poor battery times...and with no sign of improvement.

If you're buying I'd recommend HP for the PC lover and well, obviously Mac for the 'cool artsy' student.

In Déll's case, you don't get what you pay for so yes the offers are shi'ite.

To offer a bit of balance here (and this is coming from a current Macbook Pro user)

Eh they (Dell) are very good for the most part. Mine is still working since getting it in 2005 and my friend's one just packed it in a few days ago.

Granted we did have to get some servicing/repairs done once or twice, but the insurance paid for that and ILTG in Quinn had it back in a day or two, no need to have it sent away by courier etc.

Most of the issues that people have is due to not knowing how to take care of said laptops and getting craploads of viruses by using P2P programs, etc etc.

Every laptop has issues, especially the longer you own it for. My advice, get the insurance, it makes a hell of a difference.

here.from.day.1

Jev/N wrote: »

To offer a bit of balance here (and this is coming from a current Macbook Pro user)

Eh they (Dell) are very good for the most part. Mine is still working since getting it in 2005 and my friend's one just packed it in a few days ago.

Granted we did have to get some servicing/repairs done once or twice, but the insurance paid for that and ILTG in Quinn had it back in a day or two, no need to have it sent away by courier etc.

Most of the issues that people have is due to not knowing how to take care of said laptops and getting craploads of viruses by using P2P programs, etc etc.

Every laptop has issues, especially the longer you own it for. My advice, get the insurance, it makes a hell of a difference.

Exactly, and even without the insurance the standard Dell support is not what a very small minority here would make it out to be. They generally ask a few questions and then arrange for a new part to be sent (which I find great, taking apart a Dell laptop does not void warranty) or if needs be an engineer. Don't get me wrong laptops do break but when they do it is Dell I would rather be dealing with than most others.

Amalgam

Make sure you're happy with the keyboard and screen. One bug-bear of mine is how bad keyboards on laptops have become recently. Totally flat, with no tactile feedback whatsoever.

A fancy graphics card and Dolby this and that is all fine and dandy, but if you don't like the feel and layout of the keyboard under your fingertips, it is something you'll be annoyed by everytime time you use the laptop.

Raphael

here.from.day.1 wrote: »

Exactly, and even without the insurance the standard Dell support is not what a very small minority here would make it out to be. They generally ask a few questions and then arrange for a new part to be sent (which I find great, taking apart a Dell laptop does not void warranty) or if needs be an engineer. Don't get me wrong laptops do break but when they do it is Dell I would rather be dealing with than most others.

Very true, I've had my laptop for 3 and a half years, and in this time have gotten 1 new palmrest, 3 new motherboards, 1 new hard drive, and more replacement chargers and keyboards than i can remember. Their customer service is brilliant, and the best thing about a Dell Laptop, imo.