I know there are ways of doing it on a mac relatively easially, but I've gotten used to how it's done on windows, "+u for ü same for o and a, and alt+s for ß I spent a month on a mac, and while I got quicker at using the mac shortcuts for those keys, I never got anywhere near as quick at typing in German as I am on my windows computer. Also, there's the fact that I feel completely lost in OSX.

Nope, just 1 android phone. And one of the laptop's has been retired, it now sits in my closet, as a backup. And as to why iPads are not an option, well there are a couple reasons. $500 is a bit more than I am willing to spend on a tablet, the closed nature of it, and well, I've discovered I'm not into tablets. I've tried out friends iPad's, and while they are nifty, and are probably great for people that like them, I just didn't care for it.

I've had a 13" Macbook pro, got it after a friend upgraded, and while it did seem like a decent laptop, I kept running into problems, such as being able to type umlauts and the Eszett, as swiftly as I can using Windows 7 with the International Keyboard turned on. It's the little things, but they added up quick. Yeah, I'm sure there are workarounds, but I'll stick with PC's

I'm actually considering buying a netbook before the next semester starts. I've used my 17" and 15.6" laptops to take notes during my lectures, and when I'm in a big lecture hall with large tables, either one works fine, but when I'm usually in a regular classroom with regular desks, they are both too big to be practical. I've also tried using my android tablet with keyboard-case to take notes, and it just ended up being a PITA. While it may work for some people, its not for me. An iPad is not an option for me. So, instead of taking notes by hand, which is a pain in the hand, I'll probably be picking up a decent cheap netbook. Not because I want a full time laptop (which I already have), or want to play games on it (which is what my desktop is for), but because it's the best tool for the job. Pretty much all it will have installed is an office suite, web browser, and any software required for my classes. It doesn't matter that for another $50, I can get a 15.6" dual core laptop with decent ram and storage. I don't need any of that. I am sure there are others that feel the same. The netbook may not be practical for everybody, but it does have its use, especially at the ~$200 price range.