Laptops

DTSupra30

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Jan 12, 2006
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Yo guys, im gonna be going to school soon, and was just wondering what you all thought the best laptop is? Im debating getting a mac but im not sure any suggestions?

Matt
 
macs are great if you want to do graphics work or sound/video editing. Otherwise, it's not really worth the trouble to be using one when the entire campus will be sporting pc's.
 
I don't know why college students think they need a laptop, seriously everything you need is at your school. laptops are just expensive desktops that aint worth the price of being able to move around with it.
 
I don't know why college students think they need a laptop, seriously everything you need is at your school. laptops are just expensive desktops that aint worth the price of being able to move around with it.

It really depends. If all you're gonna use it for is writing term papers, then it won't really be worth it. but if you're in an art school, it's good to always have a portable source for school work without having to spend money on blank cd's all the time
 
In my college, they're really emphatic on team projects. As such, there's lots of going to other peoples dorms, or meeting in the library. It'd be tough toting around a desktop. Not that I had a choice, because my college forced us to buy these grossly overpriced laptops...
 
microsoft word was always on the library and lab computers where i went to school. many students didnt own computers and did all their work in the labs. for those of us who did, we used these things they call disks, which transfered files between one computer and the next.

alternately, you could email things to yourself.
 
Even so, you often need all people working simultaneously. And since there are ALWAYS at least 100-500 other people working on the same project for each class, the places with hella computers are frequently maxed out, not to mention when term paper times roll around and all the high school students show up for periodical resources. So, pretty much the only way to ensure you have access to a computer at all times is to have your own, and since you need it in many places you just need a laptop.

But this only reflects my experiences, and I know that not everybody is in the same size college, the same type and so on. But in my case, I really need one.
 
The blank CD argument is null and void now that flash drives are out. As for Art, I have a degree in Illustration and I can sympathize with not being able to land a good computer at the lab. We had a pretty good lab too. But I was a broke college student with barely enough money for pizza, buying a laptop with enough power to swing heavy duty visual apps was just not possible.

Heck, I'll be paying on college debt until I'm 34!
 
yeah, most of mine was traditional too (it's actually a Bachelor of Fine Arts), but I liked the marriage of digital and traditional. I would scan my illustrations and touch them up in Photoshop. The few 3D classes I had were fun, but not my specialty or passion.
 
most likely, if you think you need a laptop, then you probably should get one, otherwise, just do what i did and sleep in the labs. (i don't know, if you're not an animation major, then you probably won't have to resort to that)
 
Darth_Jonas said:
yeah, most of mine was traditional too (it's actually a Bachelor of Fine Arts), but I liked the marriage of digital and traditional. I would scan my illustrations and touch them up in Photoshop. The few 3D classes I had were fun, but not my specialty or passion.
Where did you go? and what do you do if you dont mind me asking, and thanks for all the info im decideding between a Mac or a something else.
 
I went to UNC Charlotte. They aren't a huge school, but they have some really good professors that have actually existed as artists and graphic designers in the "real world". Their art program is setup with a slightly different philosophy. They make you take classes outside of your concentration to get you a well-rounded education. I hated it at first, but I learned that I could apply things like photographic, digital, and even 3D techniques to illustration. Which served me well. I hung on until I got my BFA (which is a pain in the butt harder than the BA). Now I have merged illustration with digital illustration and graphic design and photography. Jack of all trades, master of none. I also taught photography, art, and crafts at a high school in NC for two years, before quitting. (Teachers get paid jack for all the trouble you have to go through). Then I did some graphic design work for a year before my wife and I moved to Kentucky.

Currently, I work tech support for online banking (yes I like computers too), but am hoping that my best friend will hurry up and get married so I can convince him to move here and open up our art studio. It's impossible to do it while he's in Amish-country, PA. Do I like what I'm doing? Eh, it pays the bills, but it isn't my passion. Will I pursue my art? I still am. It is for my own personal satisfaction and some for our church, but I still swing with it. I hope to have my own studio up and running in the next 5 years. It already exists on paper: Tempest Studios.
 
sweet. that's ambitious. i miss doing art...i want to buy a printing press (focus was on printmaking, and no that didnt involve computers...look it up if you're curious) and at least be able to do linoleum cuts, but i kind of need a place bigger than an apartment to make that work. hopefully after we move i can afford a cheap one.
 
I always liked lino cuts. I never really got into it, but a few of my fellow artists did. Printmaking was popular and the labs were always packed, so I stayed away from it.
 
lino's are nice cause you need practically no supplies. at least nothing expensive or complex. and the printing is the msot basic as far as inking and such goes. i dont see how i can do any other type of printing from home (acid baths, 70 pound litho stones, 5000 dollar press, oh my!)
 
I feel your pain. As much as I would love to have my own darkroom, it would cost a fortune and take up too much space. I have to settle for sending off film or doing it digitally. I'm too lazy to do too much that I have to send off, and I don't have a digital camera (yet). Right now, I'll get images from anywhere I can find them. (I also don't have internet at home, just here at work). So I've come to love my little flash drive.