Masters student to US.
1 - Dont buy from India. US prices will be better and great back to school deals when you start in Fall
2 - Get a "Tablet PC" (Not iPad.. but true Tablet PC) and get Microsoft One Note (1) and another Blue Beam Revue (2) or PDF Annotator.
This will save you so much time, energy, paper, information and notes you cant imagine.
Being able to Annotate & write notes.. Right on top of the SLIDES / PPT/ PDFs that your Professor puts up will make life so damn easy!
Also going through & HIGH LIGHTING and ADDING Notes (Written) and TYPED on the PDFs you get from Research Sites (IEEE, ACM etc etc)
The number of NOTES & stuff I used to have to physically carry around was a PAIN.
Specs for the Tablet PC:
- Makes sure you get something that PORTABLE and EASY to carry around. You may be tempted to buy a cheaper/ larger laptop with MORE TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS but for you purpose.. MASTERS & later JOB HUNT or PhD.. Trust me.. I wish I could've TOLD MYSELF these things when I was going through that.
Size: 12/13/14" - Dont get bigger machine. I suggest Thinkpad X-series Tablets. Pricing will vary but this machine will be worth it. I wish I knew this when I did Uni.
It is not a COMPUTER to you anymore.. it will be your LOGICAL PHYSICAL EXTENSION to carry around with you all the time. You cant do it with a LARGER/ HEAVIER machine. You may think I wont need/ use it often. But trust me, if you carry it around you will OPTIMIZE your LIFE & WORK all the time.
Do the above and it may seem a little more expensive than normal. But how much time and money you are putting into your CAREER & TUITION.. This is an INVESTMENT you will THANK YOURSELF and ME for YEARS afterwards.
2 add ons:
- After you get the machine in the US, keep checking TechBargains.com and buy a decent SSD on a good deal. Replace it and use HDD as external. The SSD will make your WORK FAST! Quick start & close for when you want to take quick notes or class has begun & you're late.
- For when you want more working space, get a larger monitor and they come very cheap.
I will also re-quote my Thinkpad Info Summary:
Bottomline: Get a Thinkpad. They've had hardware that is usually best supported by the Linux Community. Most "REAL" Sys Admins in big & small companies use a Thinkpad.
For movement and reliability... Nothing beats a Thinkpad.
I've used HP, Dell 17", Compaq, Toshiba all brands of laptops over 10 years. Worked with some of these name brand companies also.
Nothing beats Thinkpads.
XPS/ Alienware is fine if you want to do GAMING.
You want something you can TAKE AROUND and RELY UPON, Thinkpad.
Honestly. 17" Thinkpad is going to be a pain to carry around.
My suggestion is go for 14/15" .. T420 (1600x900) or T520 (1900x1080) with the highest resolutions and get an external LCD with 1920 x 1080 or 1920 x 1200.
I have 5 Thinkpads and have had 2 17" laptops before.
The more compact / small it is the more easy it is to TAKE ALONG (Trust me.. I went from 17" to 14.1" and now to 12.1".
Get a Thinkpad with the right kind of Video Card (Integrate / Dedicated or Switchable) depending on his need of Video Processing Software vs Battery Life.
---------- Post added at 12:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:34 AM ----------
If you want to save some $$$ You can get the PREVIOUS 6 month old model. Check out forums.. forum.thinkpads.com / notebook review / tabletpc review.
e.g. X 230 Tablet just coming out. Get X220/ X210/X201 for much much cheaper and still very powerful TOOL for WHAT YOU WANT TO DO ... Your Masters related Activities.
If I ever go back to University for an Exec-MBA I will be carrying my current X61T or whatever new Tablet PC i have.
