A Southern Journey
I’m leaving tomorrow for a one week computer science conference in Brazil. I will almost definitely have Internet access, but my time will be limited, so please excuse the fact that I will be slow to moderate comments and respond to e-mails for the next week.
Fear not, however, I have the last 4 Weeks to a 4.0 post ready to go live on Monday and a backlog of finals diaries and other exciting posts that will go up soon after I return.
Stay tuned…
UPDATE (4/9/09): I have chosen my four volunteers for this series. The application is now closed. If you haven’t received an e-mail from me, assume you weren’t chosen. I received over 70 volunteers within the first 24 hours! Thank you everyone who offered their help. I think this series will be a lot of fun. Stay tuned…
A Few Good Volunteers
I’m launching a new series this spring in which I follow a group of students through their preparations for final exams. The students I follow will get personal advice from me on how best to structure their studying. My goal is to provide a realistic view of study habit rehabilitation — often a messy process!
If you’re interested in participating, e-mail me the following: your school, your major, and the dates of your final exam period.
I predict I’ll get many more volunteers than I can accommodate, so I apologize in advance if I can’t fit everyone in.
A Brief Interruption…
Excuse this brief interruption to our regularly scheduled programming. My friend Dan Schawbel, who conducted an excellent interview with me last December, just published his first book: Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success. Dan is well-known in the business world for his writing and speaking on how young people (i.e., us) can build a personal brand to stand out in their job hunt. If you’re facing the job market in the near future, check out Dan’s popular blog and consider diving deeper with his new book.
That’s all, back to the study hacks…
The Zen Laptop
In the current issue of Wired magazine, Clive Thompson gushes over the rapid rise of the netbook: inexpensive, low-powered, small laptops optimized for simple tasks like web surfing. Clive compares the existing PC industry to “a car company selling SUVs,” noting that they have been pushing “absurdly powerful machines” even though most consumers just need something that gets them to the grocery store.
For some people, the full power of a desktop or laptop is crucial. For example, those who edit movies or play high-end games. But for most college students, these needs aren’t relevant. In fact, 99% of what we do is writing, e-mailing, and web-surfing with the occasional romp through the land of Powerpoint: exactly what a netbook is optimized to perform. And unlike a full-powered laptop, a netbook costs only $300 - $400 and has a battery that can last over six hours per charge.
After mulling these facts I began to ask myself an interesting question: Do colleges students need a laptop in the age of netbooks?
I spent the last month putting this question to the test.
Two Notes
Below, I’ve listed two quick administrative notes. One concerns a fancy new upgrade to Study Hacks and the other is an open call for a “focused” students who want to be a part of my new book…
Into the Wild
Julie and I are heading off for a mini-vacation. We’ll be in the deliciously computer-free wilds of Vermont for the next week. While gone, I won’t be able to answer e-mails or moderate comments, so please be patient if you don’t get a quick response or your comment doesn’t appear on the website in the near future.
In the meantime, you should get excited about some of the schemes I have planned for the spring, including:
See you when I get back.
The Envelope Please…
I’m thrilled to announce the winner of the HP Magic Giveaway:
Sebastian from Rutgers
I chose entries at random and stopped at the first proposal that really caught my attention. Sebastian’s was the fourth entry I read and I loved it.
4 Is The New 1
Earlier this fall, I teamed up with HP for the Freshman 15 giveaway and was able to give a brand spanking new laptop to a most deserving student. As I announced a couple weeks back, HP, now teamed up with Microsoft, has returned with an even sweeter offer: 4 brand new computers for me to give away; not to mention printers, software, DVDs, the whole works…
Today, I officially open my contest. The rules are listed below and you have exactly one week to enter.
But before I continue, I should clarify, in case you’re wondering: I get nothing out of this promotion. (Sadly.) That is, HP is not paying me. Their hope is that by giving away thousands of dollars of free stuff they will generate good will with you guys. My interest is only that I like giving you free stuff!
The Official Rules
The rules for my contest are as follows:
