<p>Our kids all have apple laptops. Some are, powerbooks some not. The best thing about the powerbooks are the backlit keyboards. Let’s them chill in their bed in the dark and see the keyboard (which is good for roommate situations). Our daughter (HS-Junior) has the basic aluminum case laptop, I think it was $1100.00. We bought the student edition of Word, Excel, etc and it so much more stable on the mac than the PC based computers we have at home.</p>
<p>We’ve been buying Sonys in the past because of their screens and other features, but as other manufacturers caught up with them in screen quality, Sonys became less attractive because they are pricier.</p>
<p>We just replaced our college student’s Sony VAIO laptop with a Dell. The VAIO literally fell apart after 2 years of use. The cheapo Dell model we got for her had a 17 inch screen, and we were worried that it would be too heavy compared to her sleek 13-inch laptop. DD’s reaction to the larger screen size? “Cool, I like it! I can see two documents side-by-side!” If her new Dell falls apart, we will not feel too bad - it was under $500 at Costco. Our university researcher just replaced her PC laptop which we bough for her a few years ago with a Mac. She is on her own with that one :)</p>
<p>Here is an article that rates some laptops:</p>
<p>Macbook if you are an Apple aficionado, Lenovo if you are a PC type. Both have high quality components. While you are at it, purchase one of the various insurance policies that cover theft and accidental damage. They’re cheap and when the inevitable occurs, you will be glad you did.</p>
<p>I’m partial to Dell for cheap notebooks. There are two approaches to technology: buy the best and it will last the longest or buy decent but cheap and replace more often. I have a $2,700 MacBook Pro as my main laptop and a Dell XPS M1330 as a backup and travel laptop (it’s a lot smaller and lighter). I like both of them for the purposes that they serve.</p>
<p>Our kids have MacBook Pros and they’re very happy with them.</p>
<p>It may be easier for some majors to go with larger screen sizes. Computer Science majors may find that better resolution with 15 and 17 inch screens are preferable for doing a lot of coding where vertical pixels are a benefit. There may be some doing a lot of work with images that prefer higher resolution displays. I asked my son if he wanted a 13 inch MBP and he said that he preferred the 15 inch because there’s more real estate.</p>
<p>I have a Dell Inspiron. It has had some issues with shutting off randomly and overheating sometimes. I’ve had it since June 2007. Tonight is my last night with it-- I have a brand new one sitting at home. This computer “caught fire” the week before Thanksgiving… smoke coming out of the USB ports is not a good sign…</p>
<p>I bought an extended warranty when I got my computer so Dell is replacing it and it’s not costing me a dime now. My new one should last me through grad school if not longer…</p>
<p>Dell, HPQ, Apple and many other laptop makers were “burned” by defective graphics cards from nVidia. 2007 and 2008 were not good years for laptops with nVidia discrete graphics cards. They had a habit of running hot and croaking, sometimes after a few weeks of use. Manufacturers generally extended warranties for two or three years for this defect. I’ve heard of some customers getting up to six motherboard replacements. Users generally demanded new systems with different specs after multiple motherboard replacements.</p>
<p>I had two Apple systems with this problem. Apple fixed both systems. Fortunately the systems died when college wasn’t in session. My MacBook Pro would be their backup system if they lost theirs. Or I’d have to cough up enough money for another one.</p>
<p>One nice thing about MacBook Pros is that you can boot one MacBook Pro from the hard drive of another by connecting a Firewire cable between the two.</p>
<p>I’ve been a mac-head since 1985 and have 3/4 of my family converted. (So cheapo DH gets the discarded PC. Guess which computer I spend the most time fixing.)</p>
<p>S has his MacBook Pro at college. He says it is the computer of choice at his school. Both kids have the 13" screen w/ HDMI cables to connect to the (bigger) TV. He likes the smaller footprint to carry around to classes.</p>
<p>My kids use a MacBook and have an external monitor, keyboard and mouse for working at the desk. They’ve said they don’t really need the monitor but a larger screen is pretty cheap now. You don’t need bigger than 13". Bigger = heavier and you can get externals - including a backup drive - for less than the cost difference.</p>
<p>Both my kids got Mac Powerbook G4 as high school graduation gifts–15in screens.</p>
<p>D’s is still working pretty well after SIX years with one OS upgrade. S is going on year 5 with his. D is due for a new one and we’ll probably switch to the Mac book with a slightly smaller screen (13.3?). Both are extremely happy with Mac and said throughout college that their PC friends all complained about crashes, viruses, etc.</p>
<p>One other really fabulous feature is that if you ever have issues with your computer, you can take it with you to the Apple store (sign up for an appointment with a “Genius”).
It’s like having your own IT person. I can assure you that when my old desktop finally dies (soon I’m sure), I’d getting one of the cheaper Macs immediately. I would LOVE to have the IT support!). When D got a new OS, she took it in there and someone showed her how to install it and made sure everything is working ok. THey are both major ipod users. THe Genius bar people teach them ALOT about maximizing their computers/ipods etc.</p>
<p>For my two, the Macs, with near-by apple store support, has been the way to go.
Great investment.</p>
<p>Just bought my D a new MacBook Pro 13" as her senior year Christmas gift (half from Grandma). She’ll take it to college in the fall but wants a few months to get used to it before she starts. She’s been using a MacBook for 3-4 years now but her old one is larger, heavier, and a bit slower. Bulk & weight are an issue when you spend a lot of time lugging the thing between classes, to the library, etc. She swears by Mac. I have to swallow hard to pay the premium for a Mac over what seems to me a comparably equipped PC, but she’ll do all her work on her computer and we want her to have something she trusts and is comfortable and confident with.</p>
<p>We recently discovered an advantage to having a Macbook. Dd left her charger here at Thanksgiving, so I had to mail it back to her on the opposite coast. She had no problem during that week that it took…all 3 suitemates and many others have the same computer!</p>
<p>Sometimes, when I see my kids handling their laptops, I think we shoul have gotten them those bomb-proof Toughbooks designed for the military :D</p>