General Technology Questions and Product Reviews

[sbrider12]

Hello,

In my preparation for Vet School, I've noticed many threads with amazing information regarding the technology current/future students are using or plan to use, and thought it would be great to possibly consolidate some of that information.

I apologize if a thread like this already exists.

Thanks!

Link: a post in c/o 2024 UC Davis thread where technology discussion starts
Link: a post in c/o 2024 UMN thread where technology discussion starts
Link: a post in c/o 2023 OKState thread where technology discussion starts

Link: a post in the 2019 "Suggestions on items to prepare for first year?" thread where technology discussion starts
Link: a post in "New Computer for Vet School?" that's more recent than the original posting date of 2013

Link: the 2019 thread "laptop for DVM program"
Link: the 2019 thread "Macbook vs. Surface Pro"
Link: the 2018 thread "iPad Pro v Surface Pro"

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[sbrider12]

Sorry for the , but I wanted to separate my first question from the first post.

I've never used a digital/smart pen + tablet combination before, and was curious what products people enjoy using and what software (for writing on powerpoints, pdfs, or general notetaking) works best with those products. Thanks!

@ajs513
@Alliebird
@exotic birb
@cdoconn

 

[WildZoo]

I've really enjoyed my Surface Pro. I don't know what generation they're on now but I have a 3, have had it for about 3 years, it's great. It's basically all I used for note-taking in vet school and continues to be useful in clinics.

 

[RightMeow!]

I also enjoy the surface lineup. I have been using the Surface Go (baby pro) for my last few semesters of undergrad. Being tablet sized (10 in. x 7 in.), I've found it portable and easy to manage in my crowded backpack. It's also capable of running the full version of windows, which was a +1 for me when comparing it to android based options.

OneNote is my go-to general note taking app. Everything is saved to your google account so your notes are available from any computer with internet access. It's nice that when I forget my tablet or am just too lazy to pull it out, I can sit down at any campus computer with that sweet dual screen action and pull my notes right up. Some of my courses also publish lecture powerpoints before class, which is extremely nice because you can take notes directly onto the slides themselves and use it as study material for later.

I will say though, I am strongly considering upgrading to a Surface Pro and may pull the trigger when first year comes around. The small screen on the Go can be difficult to use at times and the effective writing area is small. Sure, the screen is only slightly smaller than a standard piece of paper and SHOULD still have plenty of room to use, but when the Microsoft Office GUI is present it leaves you about 5 inches to actually write which is asinine.

 

[PetVet23]

I got a Surface Go before starting vet school in the fall and I LOVE it!! Most of our professors provide us with copies of their powerpoints and I take most of my notes right on the slides. Some professors will give us PDFs of their lectures instead, but it's super easy to upload them into OneNote and still keep my notes and the lectures in one place.

In trying to save $$ (because, ya know, vet school is expensive) I decided to try one of the Bamboo pens (I think the one I have is Bamboo Ink?). It connects through bluetooth, and I haven't had a bit of trouble with it. Guy I talked to at Best Buy even told me there really wouldn't be any advantage to the Surface Pen over it.

My only issue is that sometimes I need more visual space simply because I want to look at 3 different things at once, but I have a docking station I usually hook it up to when I'm studying at home so I can get some double-screen action along with split-screen.

 

[alygar]

Thank you sbrider for compiling all this info!

I am an apple user so I was thinking it would make sense to get an ipad for notetaking (pretty much exclusively) and have it seamlessly transfer to my other devices. My question is— do I really need the pro? Or can I take notes just fine on the ipad air or standard ipad? I bought a new computer this September so I don’t need my ipad to serve any other purpose really.

 

[JustPaws]

I use surface pro and pen or type, and one note. Really like it and I love that I can search any word in my notes to find where I wrote something.

That being said, I was told that I would likely not be able to keep up with handwritten notes and I would say I regret listening to this and think I would have been fine, but this was how I always had done it and am a bit slower on the computer. Obviously would not have a search option on handwritten notes so that is the biggest thing that keeps me using my computer rather than switching.

 

[ajs513]

I love the surface book 2 and surface pen as I’ve mentioned in those threads. I think OneNote is a great program as well. In anatomy class we had chalk talks, where you sit in an old lecture hall while the lecturer draws things and discusses important structures. It was great to be able to keep all of my notes in one place including those drawings so I could just right down the line while studying. It’s also nice that there’s a OneNote app that syncs and you can access everything from your phone.

Some people have both an iPad and MacBook, which is the worst thing to do if you’re concerned about cost. You basically get both in one with a surface book 2, since it’s essentially a surface pro that feels like MacBook Pro. With the detachable screen it’s functionally a tablet unlike other 2-in-1 laptops.

 

[thedogtorisin2020]

I love the surface book 2 and surface pen as I’ve mentioned in those threads. I think OneNote is a great program as well. In anatomy class we had chalk talks, where you sit in an old lecture hall while the lecturer draws things and discusses important structures. It was great to be able to keep all of my notes in one place including those drawings so I could just right down the line while studying. It’s also nice that there’s a OneNote app that syncs and you can access everything from your phone.

Some people have both an iPad and MacBook, which is the worst thing to do if you’re concerned about cost. You basically get both in one with a surface book 2, since it’s essentially a surface pro that feels like MacBook Pro. With the detachable screen it’s functionally a tablet unlike other 2-in-1 laptops.

Thank you for this info! I've been eyeing the surface book and pen combo for a few weeks and plan on trying it out during spring break.

 

[JustPaws]

Thank you for this info! I've been eyeing the surface book and pen combo for a few weeks and plan on trying it out during spring break.

If you have costco membership check them, I got mine for significantly less than the discount at the bookstore through cvm

 

[thedogtorisin2020]

If you have costco membership check them, I got mine for significantly less than the discount at the bookstore through cvm

I do have a membership! I'll be sure to check them out there!

 

[ajs513]

I do have a membership! I'll be sure to check them out there!

Also try Best Buy. They often have $300 off the surface book 2 + an extra $100 off for students. I got mine plus a pen for like $1300

 

[JustPaws]

Also try Best Buy. They often have $300 off the surface book 2 + an extra $100 off for students. I got mine plus a pen for like $1300

I wanna say 2 years ago at Costco it was <$1000 +tax package including pen and keyboard it was well below everywhere else

 

[ajs513]

I wanna say 2 years ago at Costco it was <$1000 +tax package including pen and keyboard it was well below everywhere else

Are you thinking of the surface pro?

 

[WildZoo]

If you're willing to step down a generation (original Surface Book, or Surface Pro 6 for instance) you can get them significantly cheaper than the newest model. That's why I got the Pro 3 when the 4 came out.

 

[JustPaws]

Are you thinking of the surface pro?

Oh I didn't see you said book. My bad

 

[Amburrito]

Thank you sbrider for compiling all this info!

I am an apple user so I was thinking it would make sense to get an ipad for notetaking (pretty much exclusively) and have it seamlessly transfer to my other devices. My question is— do I really need the pro? Or can I take notes just fine on the ipad air or standard ipad? I bought a new computer this September so I don’t need my ipad to serve any other purpose really.

If you can hang on til Cyber Monday (or any time you find a good deal), you can pick up an iPad and pencil for a reasonable price. I'm a die-hard Apple user, and I love that my phone, my laptop, etc all sync together. I used to exclusively handwrite my notes during undergrad, but it just takes way too long in vet school. I used my Macbook Pro (which I've had since undergrad) for taking notes in the beginning of the year and I wasn't really happy with my notetaking system. I picked up an iPad on Cyber Monday and I feel much more organized. I bring my iPad to class when I want to take notes (especially for drawing things!) and I also have e-textbooks so it's a portable way to have my textbooks handy. I bring my laptop when I want to study because I usually have multiple tabs open at once (lecture recordings, my notes, my textbook, etc), and sometimes it's handy to have my iPad out for taking notes too.

Basically, I agree with what others have said: if you're looking to buy new tech, I wouldn't necessarily choose to buy both a Macbook and an iPad new. However, if you already like and use Apple products, you might like having an iPad if you can scoop it up for a good deal. I got the cheapest and most basic model, and I basically only use it for note-taking on OneNote and studying, and I'm very happy with it.

 

[sbrider12]

Thanks for all the replies.

Looks like OneNote is the way to go, program-wise. Think I'll try to get accustomed to it prior to orientation.

Time for me to head over to Costco and Best Buy and see some of these options in person

 

[Stroganoff]

Looks like OneNote is the way to go, program-wise.

I was looking into this a month or two ago and posted a summary of my thoughts in this post. Although OneNote is super amazing and we used it at a past job for basic knowledge and helpful notes, just beware of some of the drawbacks: It now requires Microsoft OneDrive for all syncing and backup -- either through your school or work or a personal account. So if you take all your vet school notes on OneNote attached to your school account, you'll have to migrate them to a personal account when you graduate, and free Microsoft accounts are limited to 5 GB, so if you have more than that, either pay up forever (for Office 365 or just OneDrive storage) or lose your notes. I can't for the life of me find a workaround in OneNote 2019 or OneNote 365 as Microsoft is really heavy-handed with forcing their users/customers to drink their Kool-Aid and use OneDrive. Which also means there's no encryption at rest, so that's "fine" for class notes but not at all ok for stuff you'd like to keep confidential or to yourself or if you value privacy as a principle and want to hold tech companies accountable for taking advantage of people who aren't that tech-savvy.

Same with the direction Microsoft has gone with Windows 10 telemetry and phoning home and the egregious violations of privacy. As a Microsoft user since the 90s, I no longer respect them and am trying to wean myself off of Windows 10 as well as Office, so although I do think the Surface Book and Surface Pro lines are pretty solid hardware, I can't in good ethical conscience recommend people use Windows 10 except the Enterprise or Education editions.

For those reasons (and more in that post linked above), I'm personally leaning the iPad (or iPad Pro) route + Notability + NextCloud, and this is coming from someone who has many criticisms of Apple (work conditions for factory workers in China, their penchant for screwing customers at the Apple Store where instead of fixing something that is literally free to fix they recommend buying a new $1000+ laptop or tablet¹, and considerable privacy violations [Board of Directors voting against a privacy issue that the shareholders voted for, not caring about the civil rights of certain ethnic or religious minorities like Uyghurs])^2,3.

Bottom line: I'm now pretty woke (hate that word) and no longer blinded by allegiance or loyalty to any one brand, vendor, platform, or product. I do think OneNote is super powerful and like that it's available on every major platform and device (except 'nix), but just be aware that they are now forcing OneDrive on everyone, and be prepared to have a migration plan for what to do with your notes when you graduate. And if you use OneNote for personal stuff or work stuff, be aware of the privacy implications and possible regulatory issues.

________________________
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUaJ8pDlxi8
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvTKikwUMRg
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shxTTon5lfs

 

[Stroganoff]

Thank you sbrider for compiling all this info!

I am an apple user so I was thinking it would make sense to get an ipad for notetaking (pretty much exclusively) and have it seamlessly transfer to my other devices. My question is— do I really need the pro? Or can I take notes just fine on the ipad air or standard ipad? I bought a new computer this September so I don’t need my ipad to serve any other purpose really.

Hey alygar, somebun posted this in another thread:

I bought the 7th gen - not quite as fancy as the pro but I’m very satisfied with it! Unless the pro has a specific feature you really really want I would recommend just going with the basic.
Best Buy will match promos through amazon so I got mine for $50 off

There's a big price difference in the regular iPad (especially on sale! Like $299-329) vs. a Pro, and I actually agree that unless you need or really want the Pro's features (USB-C, bigger screen), the regular iPad is sufficient. Especially for just class notes and annotating PowerPoints and PDFs as a student.

The Apple Pencil Gen 2 is a bit better than Gen 1 from what I've seen as it fixes some issues and has wireless charging, and it's currently only compatible with the Pro models. That could change in 2020 though! I think Apple has a product announcement 3/31/20 for products that should be out just in time for a fall term. If anything, there will be price cuts on current products.

 

[ajs513]

I was looking into this a month or two ago and posted a summary of my thoughts in this post. Although OneNote is super amazing and we used it at a past job for basic knowledge and helpful notes, just beware of some of the drawbacks: It now requires Microsoft OneDrive for all syncing and backup -- either through your school or work or a personal account. So if you take all your vet school notes on OneNote attached to your school account, you'll have to migrate them to a personal account when you graduate, and free Microsoft accounts are limited to 5 GB, so if you have more than that, either pay up forever (for Office 365 or just OneDrive storage) or lose your notes.

Solution: when you graduate and and find a job, ask as part of your negotiation for your own office. When they look at you like you’re crazy, be like “wait sorry I meant Microsoft Office.” It’s fool proof.

 

[deleted676737]

Same with the direction Microsoft has gone with Windows 10 telemetry and phoning home and the egregious violations of privacy. As a Microsoft user since the 90s, I no longer respect them and am trying to wean myself off of Windows 10 as well as Office, so although I do think the Surface Book and Surface Pro lines are pretty solid hardware, I can't in good ethical conscience recommend people use Windows 10 except the Enterprise or Education editions.

Mmm... come over to Linux?

Kidding. Only partially.

 

[Stroganoff]

Mmm... come over to Linux?

Kidding. Only partially.

View attachment 297749

Ooo, feel free to comment on my original huge post on my conundrum looking for one solution that meets all my needs, wants, and desires haha. I missed Xournal in my research! I filled out Notability's survey and indicated they should port it to Linux, Windows, and Android -- right now they're only planning Android at the moment.

Is this it?? Xournal++? I'll look deeper. Especially if it supports WebDAV syncing so I can just sync it to Nextcloud.

I don't wanna hijack this thread too much since I feel like 0.00000001% of pre-vet/vetties would be hardcore enough to put Linux on a tablet to take notes and embrace their FOSS superiority.

 

[sbrider12]

...For those reasons (and more in that post linked above), I'm personally leaning the iPad (or iPad Pro) route + Notability + NextCloud

It's nice to see that NextCloud is a multi-OS option, however, Notability seems to be Apple exclusive at the moment. Do you have a software/program/app alternative to OneNote for non-Apple users?

Thanks for the detailed post

 

[ziggyandjazzy]

FWIW I do not recommend onenote with macOS. The program is extremely buggy and the search function is 100% unreliable. It was made and works better on products running Microsoft

 

[Stroganoff]

It's nice to see that NextCloud is a multi-OS option, however, Notability seems to be Apple exclusive at the moment. Do you have a software/program/app alternative to OneNote for non-Apple users?

Thanks for the detailed post

I'm still looking for OneNote alternatives that check all the boxes, honestly. Evernote is an old choice, but it requires a yearly subscription for most features. There's some promising free ones like Xournal or Xournal++ like Elkhart recommended, but I haven't really played with it much.

Notability is hiring an Android developer to bring it to Android, and there's a short survey here for them to gauge interest:

Hey Notability fans!

Notability for Android, Chrome, and Windows

Notability is not currently available for non-Apple platforms but we're tracking interest in that. If you fill out the form below, we'll let you know if we ever make a new version of the app. Thank...

support.gingerlabs.com

Please take 1-2 minutes to fill out this form so they can gauge interest and justify to their executives to spend money to bring Notability to Windows, Android, Apple Watch, etc. There's a job listing for an Android developer so it looks like they're serious about Android. But Windows would be a big win.

I know a lot of schools use ExamSoft or LockDown and require Windows so you're stuck with OneNote or Evernote or whatever.

Please take 1 minute or so to fill it out anyone reading this. FWIW, I haven't gotten a single spam e-mail from them so they seem to be legitimately gauging interest. Be sure to specify that you'd like to see Notability on Windows as a OneNote alternative, and feel free to mention that y'all are veterinary school students.

 

[Stroganoff]

@Elkhart

(But thanks for that long post. Joplin still looks cool and could replace Google Keep for me for my to do lists and shopping lists and random notes. And Xournal++ could replace OneNote for me. Worst case I embrace Notability on iPad/Android because the features are amaze-balls.)

 

[deleted676737]

@Elkhart

(But thanks for that long post. Joplin still looks cool and could replace Google Keep for me for my to do lists and shopping lists and random notes. And Xournal++ could replace OneNote for me. Worst case I embrace Notability on iPad/Android because the features are amaze-balls.)

I was going to completely rewrite the post so it wasn’t quite so rambly but it looks like you saw the original before I deleted it.

But, yeah, of the FOSS options, it really seems that Xournal++ and Joplin are the only real somewhat competitive alternatives to OneNote; Xournal++ has the pen/handwriting support but not much in the way of robust syncing or organizational features, while it’s the other way around for Joplin. You kind of just have to pick which is more important to you, I guess.

 

[jaboo]

I am an apple user so I was thinking it would make sense to get an ipad for notetaking (pretty much exclusively) and have it seamlessly transfer to my other devices. My question is— do I really need the pro? Or can I take notes just fine on the ipad air or standard ipad? I bought a new computer this September so I don’t need my ipad to serve any other purpose really.

I faced this concern as well. I went with the pro simply because I wanted something that was going to last. The upgraded processor in it makes it very hardy when it comes to new updates and whatnot. I had a regular iPad prior to the pro and it aged pretty poorly when it came to updates (got slow, more buggy). I would also say that my iPad Pro is what I solely use now. I use it and Notability daily and only pull out my laptop a few times a year now. I hand write on the PDF’s and then back up all my notes to google drive (which has unlimited storage through many school accounts).

 

[Stroganoff]

I had a regular iPad prior to the pro and it aged pretty poorly when it came to updates (got slow, more buggy).

How long did your regular iPad last before you started noticing slowdowns? Maybe the iPad Air series is a good happy medium for most people cost- and performance-wise. Could easily last 4 years.



Current lineup:

Device	Screen Size	SoC	Starting Price	Apple Pencil	Connector
iPad Pro	11" and 12.9"	A12X Bionic	$799	2nd Gen (wireless charging)	USB-C
iPad Air	10.5"	A12 Bionic	$499	1st Gen	Lightning
iPad	10.2"	A10 Fusion	$329	1st Gen	Lightning
iPad Mini	7.9"	A12 Bionic	$399	1st Gen	Lightning

I'm watching what comes out this year tbh. If anything the prices on the current stuff will drop.

 

[sbrider12]

I'm still looking for OneNote alternatives that check all the boxes, honestly. Evernote is an old choice, but it requires a yearly subscription for most features. There's some promising free ones like Xournal or Xournal++ like Elkhart recommended, but I haven't really played with it much.

Anyone else have recommendations for a non-Apple OS note-taking program alterative to OneNote (or experience/review of Evernote)?

For my own reasons, I'd like to avoid migrating all my stuff to Apple.

Thanks!