Actually, my mac mouse has a right click button. It's sometimes hard to access it though, sometimes it left clicks instead. But if you hold control and left click, it shows the list that is shown when you right click.

if u want a unix environment, why not get Ubuntu or other user-friendly linux OS, they are pretty much available for free and can easily dual boot with windows.
Ubuntu even sends you original CDs free of cost!
I've used ubuntu for quite some time (3 months ) and i still miss it coz XP wrote over the mbr and i dont have time to correct it

if price is not a barrier then go for apple if price is an issue then go for dell/vaio

do not ever go for HP...it has a really bad build and has loads of issues...

Originally Posted by Afzal

if u want a unix environment, why not get Ubuntu or other user-friendly linux OS, they are pretty much available for free and can easily dual boot with windows.
Ubuntu even sends you original CDs free of cost!
I've used ubuntu for quite some time (3 months ) and i still miss it coz XP wrote over the mbr and i dont have time to correct it

I used to use Ubuntu. I eventually just switched to Debian instead (the thing Ubuntu is based on) since it almost never updates, and the amount that Ubuntu updates annoyed the hell out of me. It also comes without stuff I don't need.

do not ever go for HP...it has a really bad build and has loads of issues...

Lies. I personally find HP laptops to be one of the best out there for getting the best bang for your buck. I got the tx2500 last year, and it still runs great . Probably the cheapest decent tablet PC ever.

Originally Posted by Ownaginatios

Lies. I personally find HP laptops to be one of the best out there for getting the best bang for your buck. I got the tx2500 last year, and it still runs great . Probably the cheapest decent tablet PC ever.

i wasn't talking about the tablet pcs...i am talking about the normal laptops...for tablet pcs hp or lenovo are probably the best...but build wise definitely dell is much much better!!

All of the new Macbooks have the left click button on them now. My friend bought one last year and it had it and it always worked fine for him.

Anybody who has an Apple computer if you need anything done to it I would say not going to the Titles store for it cause they just send it to another company in Hamilton and they probably charge more. The company they send it to is really good, I went to them because the technician at the school was on holidays the last week of school last year and that happened to be when my computer decided it wanted to break down... yay. The company's name is Light Computer Centre. They were really fast too, they had said about 5 days and it only took like 3.

im looking for a laptop myself, tending toward this one
http://laptops.toshiba.com/laptops/s...500/A505-S6965

but i'm also thinking about a tablet pc instead of this due to note-taking...
can anyone tell if there will be a problem if i just take notes on a journal/register (i am taking engineering math and computer courses)
are there any teachers who have stopped giving handouts (going green)??

i have heard that tablet pcs tend to hang very often...could anyone tell me whether this is true or not?

by the way nice toshiba laptop afzal but my only concern would be the battery back-up...only 2.5 hours??isn't tht tooo less???

Originally Posted by Afzal

but i'm also thinking about a tablet pc instead of this due to note-taking...
can anyone tell if there will be a problem if i just take notes on a journal/register (i am taking engineering math and computer courses)
are there any teachers who have stopped giving handouts (going green)??

I'm in engineering and I've always just written my notes. Almost all of the profs will put the notes online before the class and you can print them off and add stuff if need be. Some other profs will add the notes online after the class so you can just listen during class and write some of it and then write it out later.
You definitely shouldn't have a problem with writing out the notes, I've done it for two school years now and have had no problems thus far.

Originally Posted by goelk

by the way nice toshiba laptop afzal but my only concern would be the battery back-up...only 2.5 hours??isn't tht tooo less???

yeah, i am planning to get an extra 12-cell battery if i go with this one (the one that comes with it is a 6-cell or 8-cell)

Originally Posted by alyssabriere

I'm in engineering and I've always just written my notes. Almost all of the profs will put the notes online before the class and you can print them off and add stuff if need be. Some other profs will add the notes online after the class so you can just listen during class and write some of it and then write it out later.
You definitely shouldn't have a problem with writing out the notes, I've done it for two school years now and have had no problems thus far.

thanks for the input, that was the only concern stopping me for going for a notebook

I've seen a lot of people with netbooks, and they seem really good for strict note taking and such. Seems like a good alternative to more expensive laptops and they also weigh a lot less too

I have a question regarding engineering. In first year we have ENG 1D04. It is a C# programming course. I have been told we also dabble in the linux kernel, and install unix/linux OS's while customizing the kernel. Is this correct?

Reason being, I am thinking about getting a macbook fairly soon as my laptop. My desktop which I will take with me runs XP and Ubuntu. (though ubuntu is going soon, and I will be playing in gentoo). Will the macbook be compatible for the various OS's? I know it's based on Unix, so I am just hoping the hardware compatibility is there.

Furthermore... and maybe this should be in a new thread.... I am planning on going into the field of Software Engineering second year. Will the Macbook hold up to the compatibility I need for upper-year courses? I am trying to make a wise investment here, so I need to figure these things out.

thanks

Originally Posted by dmzz

I have a question regarding engineering. In first year we have ENG 1D04. It is a C# programming course. I have been told we also dabble in the linux kernel, and install unix/linux OS's while customizing the kernel. Is this correct?

Reason being, I am thinking about getting a macbook fairly soon as my laptop. My desktop which I will take with me runs XP and Ubuntu. (though ubuntu is going soon, and I will be playing in gentoo). Will the macbook be compatible for the various OS's? I know it's based on Unix, so I am just hoping the hardware compatibility is there.

Furthermore... and maybe this should be in a new thread.... I am planning on going into the field of Software Engineering second year. Will the Macbook hold up to the compatibility I need for upper-year courses? I am trying to make a wise investment here, so I need to figure these things out.

thanks

I cant speak to the Engineering questions, but as far as the OS's running on the Macbook, Yes. You can install XP and any linux distribution that the computer meets the requirements for (which should be all) onto any Mac with an Intel chip, as long as it's running OS X 10.5 (Leopard)

Originally Posted by dmzz

I have a question regarding engineering. In first year we have ENG 1D04. It is a C# programming course. I have been told we also dabble in the linux kernel, and install unix/linux OS's while customizing the kernel. Is this correct?

Reason being, I am thinking about getting a macbook fairly soon as my laptop. My desktop which I will take with me runs XP and Ubuntu. (though ubuntu is going soon, and I will be playing in gentoo). Will the macbook be compatible for the various OS's? I know it's based on Unix, so I am just hoping the hardware compatibility is there.

Furthermore... and maybe this should be in a new thread.... I am planning on going into the field of Software Engineering second year. Will the Macbook hold up to the compatibility I need for upper-year courses? I am trying to make a wise investment here, so I need to figure these things out.

thanks

as i already replied on the earlier post...macbook has bootcamp which will run other os too...