Choosing the right laptop/tablet for school
When you make that big jump into podiatry school, you need to be prepared. Unfortunately, that means spending a lot of money on stuff you may not have realized was necessary. At the top of that must-have list for any medical school is a laptop of tablet PC. Schools fall into 3 camps as far as laptops go:
- Your school forces you to buy the laptop that all of their students have. In this case, what I have to say won't help you in the least bit because you are going to pay for it whether you want to or not. Most of these schools roll the expense into your fees. Unfortunately, this generally means you'll be spending more for a computer you may not want or could have found cheaper elsewhere. However, it also usually means that there is some kind of additional warranty that you won't get buying one on your own. I personally hate the idea of having someone else choose how I spend my money but you don't always have an option on the matter. If this is the case at your school, pray that your computer isn't a POS and that your school shopped around a bit.
- Your school has no computer requirement. While this sounds great, don't fool yourself, you still need to buy one. It just means that you get to pick your poison. Since these schools have no tech requirements, it won't be included in your student budget figures for loans. Make sure you talk to your financial aid staff about having your budget adjusted to include the cost of the computer that you need to buy. It is a small hassle for a great amount of freedom.
- Your school has minimum system requirements but doesn't have a specific system you need to buy. This is essentially the same as #2 since the specs they provide should generally be found on any computer you choose to purchase (unless you ignore my advice and buy a used or outdated system.
Now, assuming that you belong in camp 2 or 3, I have suggestions that can help you. If you belong to camp 1, I'm sorry but your fate is already decided. Don't stress about it though since I'm sure computer selection was not one of the top reasons you chose your particular podiatric medical school.
Tablet PC vs. Laptop
When considering your options for a computer, keep in mind what you plan to do with it. While I understand that you may want to play games, surf the net, or make questionable Youtube videos on your free time, keep in mind that your laptop/tablet's main purpose will be to help you study. Of course, there should be some of those other options too, but focus on why you're buying it.
Most people are fairly familiar with laptops. You can do pretty much everything a desktop computer can do on a modern laptop for a pretty reasonable price. Tablets, on the other hand, are a bit less familiar. For someone who hasn't used a tablet, it is hard to understand why someone would want to spend more money for a computer with weaker performance and less cool features. Truthfully, most tablet PCs perform normal computing tasks at about the same level as average laptops did a year or two ago. Where they sell themselves for those of us in medical school though is that you can write on them just like a pad of paper. That means that with the help of programs like Microsoft OneNote or PowerPoint, you can make notes and annotations in your own writing while you study. Your tablet can then either convert what you wrote into computer text or leave it in your writing. This may sound pretty simple and mundane but consider trying to learn neuroanatomy in lecture while typing notes on top of PowerPoint presentations. If you've tried it before, it doesn't work so well. Believe me, the ability to write on a tablet is priceless for a student!
For me, the choice is simple - if you're going to buy a computer as a medical student the only real option is a tablet. I do realize, however, that not everyone feels the same. Some people will never write notes on a tablet and so paying more for less would be a waste. So, for that reason I'm going to make suggestions on both laptops and tablet PCs.
How much is too much?
While buying a computer is a necessary evil, it is important to realize that, as a student, you are likely on a fixed budget. If not, and the sky is the limit, then you probably don't need my help. Assuming that you will be paying for your laptop/tablet with student loans, the first thing that you need to do is find out how much your school will allow you to include in your student budget for a new computer. You need to call your school to find out about this. It is likely that the figure will be somewhere between $1500 - 2000, give or take a few hundred. This means that when you are shopping for your laptop/tablet that you need to stay within that budget unless you will have outside help with paying for it. That type of budget should be sufficient for most student's needs.
Think twice before picking an Apple
I realize that some people are going to hate me for saying this but now is not the time to buy a Mac. I might exclude long-time Mac users from this suggestion but for most people, now is not the time to buy a Mac.
Why? Well, for several reasons. First of all, let me start of by saying that I love Apple computers. They are beautifully designed, fast, efficient, and have a ton of cool features. With that said, let me tell you why you should avoid them as your medical school laptop.
- If you are used to using a PC, than a Mac will require a learning curve. The last thing you want to do is be sitting in lecture and fall behind because you can't figure out how to open your notes or make an annotation.
- Some of the software you may want to use in medical school might be incompatible with a Mac. The gap may be closing but I personally wouldn't want to take the chance that my mediasite video won't play back for me since I am using a Mac. Software also tends to be more expensive on a Mac.
- Apple computers are expensive. While some of you may argue with me on cost vs. performance, etc, the fact is that generally, I can buy a similarly spec'ed PC for far less than a Mac.
Now, even with this suggestion, I recognize that some people will want to buy from Apple anyways. That's fine. You'll love your computer. If this is the case, I recommend buying a MacBook instead of a MacBook Pro. While the Pro packs some tantilizing extra features, the MacBook will give you what you need and be much easier on your wallet. For a student, the features do not justify the cost of the Pro.
A look at computer specs
This subject can be extremely complicated, and because I want to make your life easier, not more complicated, I will keep it simple. If you want to understand computer specs, feel free to study up on your own. I highly recommend educating yourself as much as possible before buying but since this is a podiatric website, not a computer website, I will keep it basic
Since you computer needs are mostly for basic computing, internet searching, and other processes that don't require a ton of system resources, your don't need to be carrying around a top-of-the-line, $3000 system to make it work. However, there are some things that you should look out for. Your system should be equipped with a minimum of 2GB of Ram (memory) and 120GB Hard Drive space. Of course, more is better but those are sufficient if that's all you can afford. Make sure that your processor is relatively current and powerful enough that if won't lag while you are trying to work (I understand that saying that isn't helpful without more details but processors are complicated and I don't think it will be helpful to spend the time explaining it. You may have to trust that as long as you didn't cheap out on your computer and everything else looks good, than your processor is sufficient). Your laptop should also include a CD/DVD drive of some sort. Don't just assume it has one since many systems do not include optical drives.
Your laptop should also be equipped with either Windows XP or Windows 7. Avoid Windows Vista systems unless they provide a free upgrade to Windows 7. You should also avoid systems that use Linux as their primary OS since it may not be compatible with the software you need to use. If you buy a Mac, it should run either OSX or OSX Snow Leopard as its primary OS.
Another basic thing that any student laptop will need is Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 (or newer). This software suite includes OneNote, which I believe is an essential program for compiling your notes and powerpoints. If you buy a tablet, OneNote will be a life-changing application. You should probably learn how to use it a bit before heading to class for the first time. Most laptops won't include Office when you purchase them so plan on spending around $120 to buy it afterward.
Some systems will also include anti-virus security software, but most will just give you a trial of some sort. After you use up your trial or McAffee of Norton (whichever is included), you will need to install an anti-virus software. There are plenty of free anti-viruses which do a decent job of protecting your computer (such as AVG, Avira, etc) but I would recemmend spending a few dollars to get a more complete solution such as Norton Internet Security, Kaspersky, Panda, or McAffee. They'll all cost you around $70/year.
Other things to look out for
Computer manufacturers decided to confuse everyone. A couple of years ago, a tablet simply meant a laptop that had tablet capabilities (which is what you need). Today, however, many companies have introduced electronics that they call "tablets" such as the Apple iPad which have touch-screen operating systems and allow you to use many different mini-applications. For our purposes, these "tablets" are nothing more than glorified cell phones. Do not buy one since it will not do what you need to do for your classes. You cannot install software like a typical computer system. They may seem really cool but they will not be sufficient for your computing needs.
Another recent trend in laptop computing also makes buying a system more complicated. Netbooks are smaller, lighter, much cheaper versions of a laptop. While many of these systems are great for people who mostly just surf the web or do light computing, Netbooks will not provide you with what you need. Since they generally provide much less computing power and small storage space, they will not fill your need. The price may be tempting but avoid Netbooks.
Tablet PCs
If you are like me and want the capability of writing notes on your screen while listening to a lecture, then you will be buying a Tablet PC. There are quite a few choices now when choosing a tablet but if you are going this route, be careful to choose a system that has received good feedback and has the features you want. They can tend to be a bit pricey so you may have to pick and choose what is really important to you. Here are some that I think are good choices. I'm not going to write full reviews but will provide links for you to look into them more.
Fujitsu LifeBook T2020 Notebook
Fujitsu LifeBook T900 Notebook
Fujitsu LifeBook T4410 Notebook
Windows-based Laptops (not Tablets)
A standard-type Windows-based laptop will be your next most appealing option for medical school. In this category of computers you should be able to get quite a bit for your money. Since there is such a huge number of computers in this category, I have simply pointed out a few that I feel would be a good choice for students - they offer many of the thrills of a laptop such as multimedia features, but focus on task-based computing. If you are buying a standard Windows-based laptop, you should be able to get everything you want and more for less than $1500.
Toshiba Satellite e205
Dell Studio XPS 16
Apple Laptops
As I mentioned previously, unless you are a long-time Apple user, I would highly recommend sticking with Windows-based computers for now. If, however, you are certain that you want to go with a Mac, then your options are limited to either a MacBook or a MacBook Pro. Either one can be customized in a few different ways depending on your budget and needs. Both are great computers and are a pleasure to use, just be prepared for some likely incompatibilities with a few of your med school software applications.
