jump to navigation

Should I get a new laptop for the bar? January 29, 2008

Posted by atharkhan in : CA Bar Prep, Personal, Tech , 1 comment so far

These days, a lot of my friends are asking me whether they should purchase a new laptop specifically to take the bar exam. I think that is a valid question — there are enough stress factors on this exam that worrying about one’s computer probably shouldn’t be one of them. And, given the average cost of a legal education, a new computer would add less than 1% to the total amount spent already. So, for most people, it would make sense to get one.

The next logical question is “what type of specs should this computer have?” In my opinion, the focus should be on comfort and reliability rather than the system’s performance. In other words, rather than getting the fastest CPU and highest amount of RAM and Disk Space, it would be more beneficial to focus on screen size and brightness, the size of the keyboard, heat dissipation (you don’t want the computer getting unbearably hot under the palm rests) and of course, battery life (many people have horror stories about the power going out during a bar exam). Now, if you don’t have any price constraints, then go ahead and buy a system that will give you all of the above.

I would like to hear your thoughts on this too. Have you purchased a new computer for the bar exam? What made you do it? How did it work out for you?

-Athar.

Giving up on Leopard and “Upgrading” back to Tiger. November 23, 2007

Posted by atharkhan in : Personal, Review, Tech , add a comment

For a company that uses outdated CRT monitors with BSOD screens as their PC icons, and finds endless joy in bashing Vista in every commercial, Apple has released an unbelievably buggy operating system in Leopard. The very first day I used it, Leopard’s Finder Bug caused me to lose about 20 GB of music and school lectures. Then, it couldn’t seem to keep an NFS share mounted for more than 10 seconds. When I brought the first issue up to a some friends, their response was “I never move data. I always copy it and then compare it before deleting.” Really? THATS how much latitude we are giving Apple now? This is an operating system people — not a cheap plastic toy from a dollar store. One friend suggested updating firmware. Another suggested wiping out Tiger completely and reinstalling Leopard from scratch. Even after those two steps, Leopard continued to crash at least once a day. When it worked, it would hang on the most minor of file manipulation operations. I don’t think I have ever seen the psychedelic wheel this much in my life. So, today, I wiped out my computer and went back to Tiger. That was the OS that convinced me to move to the Mac platform anyway. It still works just fine for me. So, as Apple phrased it in this commercial, I have “upgraded to an older, more familiar experience.” Talk about “early adopters facing some minor challenges.” From now on, just like we all do with Microsoft, I am going to wait for Leopard Service Pack 2 before I try it out again. 

Kindle: Amazon’s New Wireless Reading Device November 22, 2007

Posted by atharkhan in : Personal, Review, Tech , 2comments

I read about Kindle on Amazon’s homepage. It seemed intriguing enough so I checked out the Kindle Product Page and viewed a few videos. The website states that Kindle is sold out and will be available only on a first-come, first -served basis. I am surprised that it is sold out because the product simply doesn’t make sense to me. The only reason I would buy one would be if I could get all my college textbooks on it. Then, I suppose it would be an attractive product.

I am all for gadgets and will buy the most ridiculous, overpriced toys (e.g. a Segway) and Kindle’s included broadband service does seem to justify some of the cost. Still, I just don’t see myself forking over $400 for a Kindle. The 500+ reviews on Amazon are (as an aggregate) hovering at a 2.5/5.0 stars. That tells me that the product is getting a very lukewarm reception. What do you think of it? What do you think of Electronic Book Readers in general? Would you pay for one? If so, how much? Would you change your mind if all your college textbooks were available for such a device?

-Athar.