<p>I am looking purchase a new mac laptop for the fall, with a backup (hopefully automated) and Microsoft Office at a minimum. Does anyone have suggestions for additional software needed and/or back up configurations?</p>
<p>Apple has educational pricing available. You can save a little bit by purchasing that way.</p>
<p>The macs are pretty easy to set up for backup. You don’t need additional software beyond what comes with the computer. You can set up the backup on an apple time machine router, or you can buy one of the usb based hard drives made by 3rd parties that just plugs into the USB port. It seems to me that for a lap top you might find the wireless backup route to be the least cumbersome. </p>
<p>Do you know, are there restrictions on setting up routers in dorm rooms? If she uses 3rd party drive, can it be set up for automatic back up when it is plugged in?</p>
<p>Probably doesn’t need Office. My kids got through school in the sciences without it. We haven’t used Microsoft since the days Word was on 11 floppy disks. 
Whats the major?
She can back up on the cloud, but you could also buy a separate hard drive.
<a href=“iCloud: The ultimate guide | iMore”>iCloud: The ultimate guide | iMore;
My last one in college bought an air book last yr. 13" Depending on their major, they may want a separate monitor. I would get a refurbed model, with an eye to replace in jr or senior year that should carry them through first several years of work.
<a href=“Macbook Pro vs. Macbook Air - College Life - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-computers/1447545-macbook-pro-vs-macbook-air.html</a></p>
<p>another thing you can do besides using iCloud or a portable drive for back up, is emailing drafts of papers to him/herself.
Do they have a smartphone or iPod/ipad? Versions of Pages/keynote etc are available for iOS & makes it easier to double check work when you don’t have your laptop with you.</p>
<p>Thanks for the link to the previous discussion. My daughters major will be economics. What are the kids using these days for office like products… Google Docs ?</p>
<p>I also wanted to add that dorms generally have wireless & may also have printers available.
Apple computers come with for apps word-processing, (Pages), Keynote(Powerpoint), Numbers (database), iPhoto, iMovie & Garageband.
<a href=“http://www.apple.com/creativity-apps/mac/”>http://www.apple.com/creativity-apps/mac/</a>
Some people use Google docs, for instance when you have a group working on the same document.(although that is also available with Apple documents)
<a href=“Apple updates iWork for Mac, iOS, and iCloud | Macworld”>http://www.macworld.com/article/2138605/apple-updates-iwork-for-mac-ios-and-icloud.html</a>
Have they used Macs in high school? There is a bit of a learning curve if they are switching platforms.</p>
<p>Don’t buy office before you check school pricing. You may be able to get a huge discount.</p>
<p>There are also education discounts through the Apple store, but they might not be as deep as refurbed.
<a href=“Refurbished Mac Deals - Apple”>http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/macbook_air</a>
Some education apps.
<a href=“25 Apps You'll Need to Survive College | Mashable”>25 Apps You'll Need to Survive College | Mashable;
<p>Whatever office products you go with must be able to save documents in Microsoft format, and your student must be able to do this with ease, before school begins. Some professors will expect documents to be emailed or posted to a system like Canvas, and they want to be able to read them without a translation hassle. We generally have Microsoft Office installed on our office computers because that is what schools buy site licenses for.</p>
<p>/ begin rant
There are few things more frustrating to me than having to translate a student’s document on my own, or having to download it myself from Google docs because a student doesn’t know the difference between sending me a link and sending me a document. I grade about 100 papers a week, mostly on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, which means I plow through a lot of papers in a single setting. If I have to fuss with 1/5 of those, I’m taking time away from my other responsibilities, and everyone suffers.</p>
<p>Get an Office 365 subscription for $99/year. You can put it on 5 machines, it’s always updated, you can save to OneDrive and access anywhere, and you can even install temporary Office software onto someone else’s machine when you need it in a pinch. It is a good deal in our household.</p>
<p>*Whatever office products you go with must be able to save documents in Microsoft format, and your student must be able to do this with ease, before school begins. *</p>
<p>I expect how to submit files was worked out in high school, if not middle school.</p>
<p>Definitely call the school first and see what software discounts they have for students. Microsoft Office may even be free if the school signs up for the right program with Microsoft. </p>
<p>Also, Apple usually has a promotion in the summer where purchasers of Mac laptops get a giftcard (used to be an iTouch, but no more). So wait to buy until the summer.</p>
<p>MacBook Pro with MS Office is pretty much all you need. The 128G flash drive one is somewhat limited. </p>
<p>If you go retina display, the 256G hard drive is the minimum. However, if storage is key then the 500G standard display is a tough deal to beat.</p>
<p>BTW, you can get education pricing now. Just order and pick up in store. No gift card though.</p>
<p><a href=“Buy MacBook Pro - Education - Apple”>http://store.apple.com/us-hed/buy-mac/macbook-pro</a></p>
<ol>
<li>For back-up, iDrive works great for my son ($50/yr)</li>
</ol>
<p><a href=“IDrive® : Cloud backup solutions for home and business”>IDrive® : Cloud backup solutions for home and business;
<ol>
<li>Sophos Anti-virus is excellent (and free too)</li>
</ol>
<p><a href=“http://www.sophos.com/en-us/products/free-tools/sophos-antivirus-for-mac-home-edition/download.aspx”>http://www.sophos.com/en-us/products/free-tools/sophos-antivirus-for-mac-home-edition/download.aspx</a></p>
<ol>
<li>Another option to the yearly $99 office is to buy the regular office at the student price. Think it was $89 with student discount. And that gets updated too and it eliminates the annual $99 fee thing. It is available all of the place. Best Buy is one example. Make sure to check of student pricing though. Most ads have the retail price. Can be put on either two or three machines, which is enough for my son. That was last year we did it.</li>
</ol>
<p><a href=“http://www.bestbuy.com/site/office-for-mac-home-and-student-2011-mac/7016136.p?id=1218824951308&skuId=7016136”>http://www.bestbuy.com/site/office-for-mac-home-and-student-2011-mac/7016136.p?id=1218824951308&skuId=7016136</a></p>
<p>Apple just release a minor update to its MacBook Air line and also lowered the price by $100. Students can get an additional $50 off through the education store. For an even better value, look in the “refurbished” section – last year’s version which was selling for full price 2 days ago can now be had for maybe $300 less while supplies last; these are mostly brand new, despite the refurbished label.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t spend money on MS Office – Apple’s alternative (Pages, Numbers and Keynote) now comes free with a computer purchase and they can export to MS formats like Word. Or simply export to industry-standard pdf which locks in the exact format that you see on your screen. Very easy to do on a Mac for any document: just go to print, then choose the “save as pdf” format.</p>
<p>^^ If Pages is now free, then that works. However, can Pages import and use Office docs without issues? I have never used it. But, most only use and send Office docs. </p>
<p>
Apparently the description of my daily life as an English professor was unconvincing? Many of my students still have not discovered the “Save as” command. Many of my students do not even seem to realize that different document formats exist. Some of my students compose their essays on their cell phones. Some students remember what they learn in middle school; other students don’t. The students I know can navigate social media with astounding ease. Office software scares the pants off them.</p>
<p>I agree with WasatchWriter that many students don’t seem to have a clue. I also get essays composed on cell phones, including some that are sent to me with no identifying information beyond an email address like “heybaybay123!”</p>
<p>But it’s not about buying MS Office so much as paying attention to the required format. Just use Open Office or LIbre Office and “save as” the required format!</p>
<p>Backup? A kid won’t do it, even if automated by subscription to some service. Knowing how to save into the cloud - like iCloud or some other - may be more useful for making sure important stuff is saved. </p>
<p>I don’t think Word is very important anymore, given the file formats are now accessible to most any program. The whole “must use Word” thing comes from when MS locked people into Office by keeping the file formats proprietary. It’s sometimes useful if a professor/TA uses change tracking. But the educational version isn’t expensive anyway.</p>
<p>I also think a MacBook Pro 13 is absolutely more than enough machine. It’s certainly possible to use an Air and buy a cheap optical drive for when the kid plays a DVD or rips a CD. But my reading is the main value is long battery life and that’s not so important in college because you use your laptop in your room, where there’s power, and in the library, where there’s power, and in some places with food, which often have power. </p>
<p>As I remember, educational pricing is $100 off the MBP’s with retina display. More memory/bigger drive is better but either is fine; virtual memory and memory management now is incredibly better than it used to be so the amount of ram isn’t as important. </p>
<p>My only other comments are:</p>
<ol>
<li>Long ethernet cable. You can buy them cheap in some stores and on the internet. You want to be able to connect in your room. BUT some schools have great wireless in dorms and some don’t.</li>
<li>Printer. They print less but schools usually now have these printer costs that can add up fast. I sent my kids with cheap b&w laser printers (and I don’t know how often they ever used them). The cartridge costs for ink jets are absurd and laser cartridges last for a really long time. </li>
</ol>
<p>^^ “Backup? A kid won’t do it, even if automated by subscription to some service.”</p>
<p>Not sure what you mean. Automated is just that. It backs up in the background when computer is on does a daily backup in the middle of night when user is sleeping. Download software and set once and that is it. There is nothing for the kid to do after the initial 5-minute download of the wizard; it is all automatic.</p>
<p>I purchased a hard disk for my child to use as his Time Machine backup disk. But I think he does not want to use it.</p>
<p>I myself do not want to back up my Mac. How can I expect a busy young adult to do this?</p>