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People with dorm-living experience--mac pro, or macbook pro?

Cameront9 said:
I know some have mentioned theft, etc, and that will all depend on your roomate. If they leave the door unlocked/always have people over, etc, the risk will be higher. But if you keep the laptop chained up, keep the door locked, etc, you will probably be ok.
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People are just that... we're human. Everyone makes mistakes. Maybe the one time a roomie or even yourself forgets to lock the door, or it doesn't click shut, or you forget to lock the lappie down, *poof*

*shrug* If it were myself, I'd rather not take any chances.

Besides, Cameront9 is right OP, you've already ordered an amazing machine! Be happy with it! I'm sure a lotta people would love to be in your position. :D
 
MBP all the way! my freshman year i had a desktop (PC, yes there was a time before i switched!) and it was bad. lots of things happen in dorm rooms, and very few of them are actual work. i am a big advocate for separating work and play, but having plenty of both!! so keep your dorm for playing, and the occasional slow time to do some work on your computer. the rest of the time you should take your MBP to a public area for group studying, or some sort of computer lab on campus for the big projects. but keep into consideration at the end of the semester the labs will be packed! so you will want your MBP to take with you to whatever quiet corner on campus there is left so you can finish your big projects. or get to bring the MBP with you to a party and well, things can get very creative at parties!
 
I vote for MBP, but I am not taking into consideration your major. (I have zero film experience.)

Much easier to get in and out of your dorm on move-in/move-out days, you don't have to pack up a desktop if you want a computer home during winter/spring break, you can work at Starbucks/Panera/wifi spots, and now and then you might get together with some friends to work at the library or other areas. Chances are that you won't be bringing it to class, though.
 
My situation is sort of similar, although i live alone and can do whatever i want in my space.

I am a college student. And let me tell you this. I hate laptops. They are nice and all, but i dont like them. And could never imagine actually trying to do serious work on them. Sure, you can get an external display, an icurve and a wireless kb/mouse. Whats that point then? You may as well have a powerful desktop.

I personally don't need uber power on the go. Check my mail, bloglines, maybe work on some documents. Thats about it.

So what did i do? I picked up a 12" 867mhz PB for $430. Then I will get my mac pro. My portability is covered as well as my powerhouse at home.

For me this is the best option. YMMV. You have to figure out your priorites. If you want to be mobile with power, then it is the MBP. If you want mobility for general things and a powerhouse at home, something similar to what I did may be in order. And you don't have to buy a notebook right away. Scope it out and look for a deal, all the while saving up. You may find that you don't even want or need one.
 
Mbp!

What I've learned over my three (so far) college years is that a laptop is invaluable. As an English major, I've wandered around campus with my trusty 12" Powerbook and been able to write in multiple locations with it. I actually had a 15" Tibook my freshman year and it was, at least for me, not truly portable, so I switched down. This is my problem right now, too - I want another 12 or 13" macbook pro, but none exists. Facts: *There will assuredly be times you want to get out of your room and away from roommates. *Space is extremely precious in a dorm room. You'll find out how precious very, very soon. *The number of people who actually use laptops in class is slim, at least at my school. I don't think I've ever done so. So don't bank on that as a factor in your decision-making. *If you treat it fairly nicely, laptops have high resale values. *Not-oft mentioned fact - you'll be moving ALL OF YOUR STUFF multiple times during one school year. Having to lug a desktop and a monitor will get very old, very fast! *Don't forget being able to read in bed! Huge plus on the laptop side. *You know what? You can get a bigger, better machine in 4 years. Don't sweat about it now and go portable.

Hope this all helps!
 
If you're going to be doing video, I definitely recommend the Mac Pro. I have a PB G4 personally, and I only take it to class for notes and such. If you're going to be doing extensive work on the go, then you also have to realize you'll need to plug in, which isn't always the most available thing on in a classroom. Also, from my experience with dorm life, most people hang out in the common areas (mine was indoors though, so that might be different for you). Good luck with college and whatever you choose! I'm sure you'll be happy either way. :)
 
milozauckerman said:
I'd go with the Macbook Pro myself. You're not going to be doing intensive Avid or Final Cut Pro editing until well into your major and by then you should have university workstations to work on, or else you'll be in a single or off-campus, where you can edit to your heart's content.

With the MBP you can do most video work perfectly well, and you can find a quiet spot to edit without your hippie roomie doing bong rips and jamming out to the latest Phish anthem.
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What do you have against taking some mad bong rips? ;)

I haven't read all of this thread, but if the OP has not already decided, I say get the 15" 2.16 MBP, and throw 2 gigs of ram in it. :)

Do keep in mind, I am/will be a PR Major...I'm not a film major.

Tell me if i'm wrong guys, but the 256VRAM along with 2.16 CD and 2gb ram in the MBP would edit alright, for college level work...not to mention, ALL universities have some nice machines.

For those REALLY intensive ones, I would say go use the Mac Lab at your school.

UWF here has a nice maclab with Graphic Arts computers being Dual G4's and Video Arts computers being G5's (I think Quads)

Speaking of good news, my MacBook 1.83 should be here tomorrow. I have 2 gigs of ram waiting patiently to be popped in.
 
I was lucky enough to have 3 roommates that weren't thieves. I could leave my PB/MBP unlocked, come back later and it would still be there. I sure do hope my new ones are that way...

Go MacBook Pro. I know I had many days where I just wanted to get out of my room... and still do work.
 
Easy Rider said:
college = laptop

no questions asked
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I disagree, most student do not take their laptop with them the majority of the time. Most people don't take notes in class on their laptops.

I understand the "But I can take it anywhere with me" argument. Fact is that most don't.

Not to say the OP shouldn't because there are those people who do bring it with them. However, you will find yourself doing more outside of your room than playing on your laptop. Plus there are more distractions outside than in a dorm room, typically.
 
If I were you I'd keep the mac pro and feel it out. I did just fine with a desktop my first year, but ultimately I wanted a laptop. If you feel you want the notebook then get a very cheap powerbook or ibook to type up word documents on the go
 
quruli said:
I disagree, most student do not take their laptop with them the majority of the time. Most people don't take notes in class on their laptops.

I understand the "But I can take it anywhere with me" argument. Fact is that most don't.

Not to say the OP shouldn't because there are those people who do bring it with them. However, you will find yourself doing more outside of your room than playing on your laptop. Plus there are more distractions outside than in a dorm room, typically.
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I agree with this a lot.

Here is another thing to think about-- my case revolves around this very much.

When I need to get out of the house, I can still get work done. I can also plug the laptop into my car audio system, and have good sound for a DVD while on roadtrips.

I won't be confined to my room all the time to do work. I can do it in the library before/after class-- I can do it anywhere.

I will be spending a lot of time at my girlfriends apartment. I will have my own space to work on my own stuff. We shared (my gf's iBook) last semester, and it luckily worked out very well. Us kids, we share ;)

It is easier to lock up (if you have a safe)

...yes, while it may be hard to walk away with a 50 lb. Desktop, it is still possible. Either way, I would say lock both up with a cable lock.



I am one of the few college students who will be using theirs for mobility. I would say 70% of the kids who have laptops, don't take them with them in school.
 
quruli said:
I disagree, most student do not take their laptop with them the majority of the time. Most people don't take notes in class on their laptops.

I understand the "But I can take it anywhere with me" argument. Fact is that most don't.

Not to say the OP shouldn't because there are those people who do bring it with them. However, you will find yourself doing more outside of your room than playing on your laptop. Plus there are more distractions outside than in a dorm room, typically.
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In my lecture halls the people using pen and paper stand out. Almost everyone has a laptop.
 
Easy Rider said:
In my lecture halls the people using pen and paper stand out. Almost everyone has a laptop.
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:eek:

It is much easier to diagram with pencil and paper... I'm surprised.

Where do you go to school? MacUniversity? :p :p
 
cag17 said:
:eek:

It is much easier to diagram with pencil and paper... I'm surprised.

Where do you go to school? MacUniversity? :p :p
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Only a handful use Mac's. I use a ThinkPad X41 Tablet since I like having my diagrams stored digitally and searchable. Not to mention the only thing I carry around all day is my 3.5 pound baby.
 
Easy Rider said:
In my lecture halls the people using pen and paper stand out. Almost everyone has a laptop.
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I wouldn't use a laptop to take notes.

1: It is rude. Most laptop keyboards are loud and if your lectures are full of them that would get old mighty fast if I was a professor.

2: It takes away from the lecture, most people have to look at the laptop when they are typing. Distracting you from, an action the professor does to demonstrate, etc.

3: Chances are you will be distracted by something on the computer, and the lecture fades aways.

This is my perogative though. I get more from a lecture when jotting a few things down and doing the required reading then I ever would trying to type everything out. And even if I just type a few lines, whats the point of doing that on a laptop? Convienence? :rolleyes:
 
Depending on your school, your first year could be taken up with doing alot of general education prerequisites. This means you may not be doing much editing to begin with. Think freshman english, college algebra, a history or psych course etc.

You cant control what your roomates do and who they are. Some will leave the door wide open and go chat down the hall. Some will bring all sorts of strange people over that they dont know at all. Some you cant reason with at all, they are bent on flunking out or just barely making it thru. Whatever machine you get make sure you can lock it down. You can also invest in a small trunk that you can lock your valuables in (like a laptop) and then have a bicycle cable to lock the trunk to your bed. It really depends how big and how safe your campus is.

The macpro is what you are going to really need for editing and it will last you 4-5years. However, someone had a good point, if you do alot of prerequisites it will be handy to get away from your roomates to do your work. It all depends on your personality. Can you work while there are others in the room, who may be nice but overly social? Or do you prefer quiet and solitude to work? Do you have an agressive personality and can do whatever it takes to enforce your will, i.e. make them not turn the room into party central. It all depends. But in my experience, dorm rooms were only places to sleep--and not alot of that.

good luk...
 
quruli said:
I wouldn't use a laptop to take notes.

1: It is rude.
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I agree. I don't like it when people use laptops during lectures to take notes. Just hearing the click-click-click makes me want to strangle someone. Pencil and paper for notes are the way to go.

Besides, how else are you going to draw carcicatures of your professors when you're bored?
 
Right now I'm leaning on keeping the mac pro. Thanks for the input guys. I'm sure many others will find the thread informative.

I just asked my brother, and he agreed to give me his old pc laptop (he just got a new computer...like 2 days ago).

It's fairly slow (probably around 1.2 ghz)...and he hasn't used it in months. He doesn't even remember the password he set on it. I'm going to have to figure out how to get past that........sigh.
 
SwitchingSoon said:
Right now I'm leaning on keeping the mac pro. Thanks for the input guys. I'm sure many others will find the thread informative.

I just asked my brother, and he agreed to give me his old pc laptop (he just got a new computer...like 2 days ago).

It's fairly slow (probably around 1.2 ghz)...and he hasn't used it in months. He doesn't even remember the password he set on it. I'm going to have to figure out how to get past that........sigh.
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windows? restart in safe mode, you can then remove a login pass!:rolleyes:
(i've tried it...works so easy lol)
 
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