I generally use Mac for pretty much everything, I have been able to find Mac alternatives or open source alternatives to pretty much everything, you just have to be willing to look. I'm biased though, I've had some very unpleasant Windows experience so i run both Linux and OSx. That being said before you decide look at the programs you want to use and see if you can find alternatives for mac, If not then go for what is best for your work. I will say htis, I was recently given a tablet (iPad2) to use and i find that synching with my MacBook and synching my work between the two is not only easy but extremely convenient. There are weatherproof covers for the ipad o i can take it with me out and about and then synchronize my work on my computer and continue working from there. That may be something you want to look into~ AS for Papers, its what i use the most~ Hope that helps a bit Noris~
On Tue, Jul 31, 2012 at 8:56 AM, Georgina Cullman <gc...@columbia.edu>wrote: > Mendeley is great also because you can read the PDFs and make notes on > them directly within Mendeley, so everything is together. I find it very > helpful. I sync the PDFs in a "currently reading" folder with my phone and > then can read on the subway on the way to school. > > > On Jul 29, 2012, at 2:31 PM, Rachel Mitchell wrote: > > > I would like to suggest Mendeley as a fantastic and powerful citation > > program. I switched from Endnote to Mendeley about a year ago, and have > > been thrilled. It is free to people at universities, and combines > citation > > software with paper organization. You just download pdfs of papers to > > populate your citation program, the citation information is added > > automatically (but may need some checking and editing), and both the pdfs > > of the papers and the citations are all stored and accessible in the same > > place. It also has a plug-in that works with Microsoft word, which makes > > adding, deleting and editing citations in documents a breeze, as well as > > having apps for both android and iphone, allowing you to read papers on > the > > fly. It has a powerful search function, and best of all, you can sync > and > > backup your library in the Mendeley cloud. There is also an interesting > > social media-like function, where you can share libraries and your own > > publications with other users very easily. > > > > I really can't recommend Mendeley enough. It is the most straight > forward > > and powerful citation program I have ever used. > > > > Rachel > > > > > > On Fri, Jul 27, 2012 at 2:05 PM, Cat Adams <damzilindisdr...@gmail.com > >wrote: > > > >> Hi Eco-lovers, > >> > >> I have the intense pleasure of starting grad school this fall, and was > >> wondering if this list-serv could generate any kind of consensus > regarding > >> what a "best" personal computer might be for me. I converted to the Mac > >> religion a few years ago, and while I don't feel intractable in my new > >> computer world-view, I am pretty comfortable with it. > >> > >> I don't intend to do heavy climate modeling or the like on my personal > >> computer - I mostly want a computer for web browsing, running R, writing > >> papers, citation programs (Zotero? Endnote?), blogging (perhaps > shifting to > >> host my own server), some video editing, and using not-too-complicated > >> graphics programs. Until I make new friends, I might also want to run > >> Netflix =P Regardless, I doubt I'll do all these things simultaneously, > so > >> my needs aren't extravagant. In addition to adequate processing speed > and > >> storage space, I want something that will be the least finicky with > other > >> types of equipment, for doing presentations and networking and such. It > >> needs to be something sturdy that can do some globe-trotting with me; ie > >> not too fragile for airport security in Bolivia. A built-in webcam > would be > >> quite handy for Skype, too. > >> > >> I plan to bring ~30 gb of files from my old lab to my new school, so I > have > >> all the protocols I worked on and easy access to all the old data. Do > you > >> highly recommend an external hard-drive for that? Or should I just > throw it > >> on the new computer? Or both?! I'm thinking both, but I'm very curious > >> about your insight, and would be grateful for advice that can help me > avoid > >> lost data and other tech-disasters. > >> > >> Ideally, I'd get a new computer before ESA, but if I'm still shopping > come > >> the conference feel free to give me advice early Thursday morning when > my > >> lab mate presents on our awesome research! > >> http://eco.confex.com/eco/2012/webprogram/Paper37476.html > >> > >> Or, just come talk to me about fungus :) I'm super stoked to dive into > grad > >> school. Hope to see many of you at the conference! > >> > >> Cheers, > >> Cat > >> > >> -- > >> Rachel M. Mitchell > >> PhD Candidate > >> Project for Interdisciplinary Pedagogy Fellow, 2012 > >> School of Environmental and Forest Resources > >> University of Washington > >> https://students.washington.edu/rachelmm/home.html > >> > >> > > > > -- > Noris M. Sola > nms...@syr.edu > >
