Buying a Tablet soon

[Octavia]

I will be going to law school in the fall and I'm probably going to buy a Thinkpad Tablet before I go. However, my school isn't currently supporting Windows Vista -- they say I can use it if I want, but if something goes wrong while I'm taking an exam, I'm out of luck. With XP, because it's the supported system, they'd investigate and I'd be able to finish out/submit the exam when they fixed the problem. For this reason alone, I think I'm going to need to go with XP Tablet, but I've read that Vista is much better for tablet users. I'm just wondering how much I'm going to be missing, and whether it will be easy to upgrade in a year or two when the school supports Vista.

Also, does anyone know how the student discount program works? I'm not currently a student and I will probably need to get my new computer before I start school in August. My school doesn't have a vendor relationship with Lenovo (or any computer manufacturer, for that matter). I'd really love to get a student discount if possible, but I wouldn't blame them for needing some sort of documentation rather than just taking my word for it. Has anyone had experience with this who could shed some light for me?

Thanks!

[milstein]

Maybe you can talk directly to a Lenovo sales rep, he/she will have the information you need
(use the number from Lenovo website)

[JaneL]

Also, does anyone know how the student discount program works?

Lenovo knows.

[Trekk69]

I know at my school we have a computer store on campus where you order the laptop through them (some you can customize, others you can't). They than order it directly to the store and the discount varies depending on whether its a 'top seller' or not. Check out your own computer store to find out more.

The interesting thing to note is that when companies such as Best buy are offering sales on computers, and will 'beat any other price'; in the fine print it says not including the student discount prices.

Hope that helps

[oconnell]

I will be going to law school in the fall . . . . However, my school isn't currently supporting Windows Vista -- they say I can use it if I want, but if something goes wrong while I'm taking an exam, I'm out of luck. . . .

Congratulations on law school. Depending on your school, your earliest exams may be May 2008 (if your school gives 1st year students only one exam -- the final). By then, your school should be okay with Vista. If not -- or if your school gives earlier exams -- you should think about the cost/benefit of buying a top-rate Vista tablet now and borrowing/renting an XP notebook for any exams vs buying a second-rate tablet now, which you may regret in a year or so. I would check with your school (call the law journal office: you'll get some great help with your question and maybe a leg-up on becoming an editor!!). In your position, I'd go with the best I can afford.

My $0.02