<p>I know there have been some discussions about this a long time ago, but I need help - not a technophile. DD going to Amherst, and because of their system, I can either buy a laptop through them or buy one before, they don’t care - basically the same support system. Theirs run about 1500, which seems a but high. They have Macs, which DD doesn’t want, or the IBM Leveno(sic), which I understand may be questionable…??? They do include a 4-yr. warranty.
Their minimum requirements are:
1.4GHz Pentium 4
Windows XP Pro (can purchase through school for $10
512 MB
12.1" display
40 GB hard drive
CD-RW or DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo
Ethernet 10/100 base T compatible
Fireware/IEEE 1394
USB2
2 PC card slots or built-in Ethernet/1PC card slot
802.11g wireless card
256 MB</p>
<p>Anyone know what kind of laptop would work that won’t break the bank? DD says she doesn’t need Fireware. Is it really necessary? What brands are best? What about a printer? How do they work with a laptop? As you can tell, I know little or nothing about laptops.</p>
<p>Printers “plug into” a laptop just as they do with a desktop (various methods, don’t worry yourself about it, but usually USB cable or wireless).</p>
<p>My personal opinion, as owner/previous owner of Mac, Toshiba, Dell, HP, is that many,many brands can work great. But Dell gets you a lot for the money. Some people don’t like dealing with their offshore tech support ( I have had mixed results), but one doesn’t need that often and she will have good tech support at school. I suggest Dell. You can order on-line/on the phone with very helpful sales staff to guide you through your selections. YOu can get a nice Dell for under $1500, but don’t know cost of your exact specs. A nice printer or “all-in-one” (printer/scanner/copier/fax) will be “thrown in” to the package for little $ (I think around $50max to upgrade to the all-in-one). I recommend the all-in-one; comes in handy at times.</p>
<p>Just give the sales person your specs and they will talk you through it. Most-needed software will be bundled in (ie, Microsoft Office). This comes in a few different versions - all will have Word, Excel,… but if she will be in a field where she would use PowerPoint (a nice program for presentations/slideshows, etc.) make sure she gets a version which includes it.</p>
<p>You can buy different # years warranty, including accidental damage. I felt that this was worth it for an off-to-college kid (<em>pictures roommate knocking soft drink onto keyboard - or worse</em>).</p>
<p>Biggest question to ask your DD is how she’ll use the laptop. Will it be a substitute desktop and remain on her desk in her room - or does she plan to carry it around to class and use it to take notes, etc. Then size does matter and matters a lot. I’ve been hearing bad things about Dell lately re: repairs, etc. Thinkpads (sold by IBM to Lenovo [Chinese Company but kept most of the IBM management]) have a great reputation, work well, nice screens, some models are very thin and very light. Stay away from Toshiba - at least the low-end models - I have two for my kids and they are junk.</p>
<p>I think she would really enjoy an apple ibook - and they aren’t pricey for all that is included in it. They are just so intuitive, and no need for firewall as very few viruses target Macs. Go with a 14" screen one, not the 12" if she is going to be using it as her main computer. Every kid I know with an apple ibook ends up loving it.</p>
<p>I have a Compaq 1058CL (purchased at <a href=“http://www.refurbdepot.com)%5B/url%5D”>www.refurbdepot.com)</a>. Have taken it around the world, used on in very trying conditions in south India following the tsunami, banged it around, and have never had anything go wrong with it. Inexpensive too!</p>
<p>Your daughter is correct - she doesn’t need firewire. “Firewire” is a technology for data transfer that was a good idea at the time, but since then USB2 has come in, and USB2 is faster and pretty much all devices are USB2 compatible - so that’s all you really need. </p>
<p>I have done find with Toshiba’s – we have 2 in the house, both very reliable. I bought the second one when my daughter took the first one overseas with her – she’s back now and we both pretty much have our laptops on for many hours a day. I bought a new desktop recently, but then haven’t ended up using it at all because I like the laptop so much. I recently recommended one to a computer-averse friend - in part because of the 24/7 tech support offered by Toshiba, because I didn’t want my friend calling me constantly for help with every function, the Toshiba people are great at fielding newbie questions – and I haven’t heard a word of complaint. If anyone would get frustrated or find fault with a computer, this guy would.</p>
<p>The difference between mine and BigGreen’s experience might be the choice of model - I did not buy or recommend “lower end” budget models - rather I usually choose a model in the $1500 - $1800 range. This is the level sometimes referred to as “workhorse” – able to handle a lot of use, but heavier and shorter battery life than the more pricey slim models favored by business travelers. </p>
<p>For a comparison of firewire vs usb2 go to
<a href=“http://www.barefeats.com/usb2.html[/url]”>http://www.barefeats.com/usb2.html</a>
As you can see the firewire is faster than usb2. Another point to consider is that both are faster than the human for most activities. The people who actually need the speed of firewire are those who are dealing with pictures and video (Biology, art and film majors). Those people will probably have a MAC as their computer. If your daughter will be mainly keeping text files or numerical records (History or literature major) a PC should suffice and I would go with the advice above and pick on the basis of reliability.</p>
<p>That appears to be a Mac issue - their USB2 ports don’t seem to function as they are supposed to. From the same site as above:
The history is basically that Firewire was a Mac protocol, USB was developed for Windows. Apple products do seem to have weaker support for USB2. On a Windows machine, USB2 would probably function as it is intended to.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that evitar’s daughter doesn’t want a Mac (this was written in the opening post) - so basically my comments apply to Windows machines.</p>
<p>If she doesn’t want an Apple, go with the IBM Thinkpad. If that’s what Amherst sells, they probably have local service and on campus support for them.</p>
<p>evitajr1 - I am thinking that the discussion of firewire vs. usb2 would be very intimidating, based one your “knowing little or nothing about laptops.” If so, join the club :D. I don’t think you need to know about that kind of thing to make your choice.</p>
<p>If you do go with the iBook as reccomended by anxiousmom, I personally would reccomend the 12.1 inch screen over the 14.1 . The small size of the 12" is awesome and since it runs at the same resolution as the 14" you’re not actually losing any screen real estate.</p>
<p>I would reccomend that though even if your D does not want a mac, tell her to try one first. Viruses are often rampant on college campuses and unix base of Mac OS X makes it relatively immune to viruses, there has yet to been a virus released into the wild for this operating system. Definately a great computer for college.</p>
<p>evitajr - I think at this point its best to let your daughter make a choice within budget - it sounds like she knows more what she wants. You are getting a lot of conflicting advice here – I don’t want to make things worse by detailing my points of disagreement. As I’ve said, there are better places to go for objective information.</p>
<p>I think you are generally better off buying whatever your daughter chooses about a month before your daughter leaves for college – this will give her time to get used to the computer, resolve any questions she runs into about use, and configure it to her preferences.</p>
<p>Calmom makes a good point about this being personal preference and price. Throw in the stuff about reliability and service. The technical points often don’t affect the user.<br>
Refresh brings up the point about viruses. While the macs may have some immunity they can still carry “disease”. As you can tell from my posts I’m a mac user and while I’ve never had a virus problem myself I believe I have transmitted a virus. I received an email from a friend in Denmark that he had found a virus on his computer and was alerting all of his colleagues that he may have spread the virus to us. I did indeed find the virus on my computer with Virex and disabled it. I went to the web site my Danish friend recommended, but all the instructions were in Danish. Apparently the virus originated in Denmark. I have no idea how many people I may have sent the virus on to before he alerted us. The end result is that I scan my computer and back up discs weekly.</p>
<p>Kid has IBM Thinkpad for past 3 years, bought thru school, CMU, for engineering.
Great warrently and best overall product(it is the best) and many hundreds of $ cheaper than if bought thru normal channels (but more expensive than other brands) For senior year he will be getting an Apple product because of beautiful interface and design.
I get to inherit this IBM. </p>
<p>The type of computer is inmaterial because the programs he uses are networked, interneted, common to both platforms. His IBM is configured on the Linux operating system and can be used on either Intel or PowerPC (read MSWindow or Apple computers )</p>
<p>Skip the printer until she gets to school. Most of printing is done on a networked laser and the school provides the toner and paper. A printer takes up valuable surface space in the room and can be bought very cheaply or her roommates will probably bring a printer that can be shared.</p>
<p>Avoid a desktop because of its size and poor portability. If has a desktop, she will wish that she bought a laptop for home visitations and traveling.</p>
<p>I just remembered my daughters school has a laptop loan program, your school may as well which might work until you decide what you want to use and what programs are needed</p>