<p>My ds and I have been having discussions as to what brand of laptop he should get. I (mom) will be paying for it which I don’t mind as it is his graduation gift. We are locking horns as I can get a teacher’s discount on a Mac, but ds wants a PC because he is familiar with PCs. His high school had PCs not Apples. His college does not have a computer requirement so he can get any type. I just don’t want to pay for something that isn’t going to hold up for 4 years and hopefully beyond.</p>
<p>Does his major have a specific computer requirement? Different fields tend to use different computers. For example, visual artists and musicians tend to favor Macs.</p>
<p>Both my D’s had macbooks through high school & that is what they are using in college/grad school.
Admittedly- they upgraded after high school ( w the help of the education discount)</p>
<p>Lenovo, because cost was a HUGE consideration and didn’t have a lot of time to shop, but got a full featured laptop for $399 and it has worked well. Any computer, even if it survives 4 years, might seem a bit old.</p>
<p>School provides all incoming freshmen with a Dell. 
Though also provides all tech support,so any virus,phishing,crashing etc is fixed at no cost…
If i were to buy one for her(she also has a dell from HS), i’d buy a MAC</p>
<p>Both of my kids had Dells. They worked. After about 5 years one replaced the Dell with another Dell and the other replaced the Dell with a Sony to get a smaller one. Both of the older Dells still work. They both had problems with the screen hinges breaking but they were fixed under warranty. The newer Dell the one kid has, has a better hinge design and it hasn’t been a problem.</p>
<p>I see no compelling reason to get a Mac vs. a PC - it just comes down to personal preference (outside of possible school/major requirements which might dictate a PC over a Mac - usually not the other way around).</p>
<p>Regardless of what the kid ends up with it’s a good idea to have some accidental damage coverage for all 4 years through either the computer manufacturer or some other insurance.</p>
<p>I’d say…if your kid is familiar with a PC, buy him a PC (assuming he isn’t an arts major who might need a Mac). Even USING your teacher discount, a macbook with the same specifications will cost you more than a PC (we also had the mac teacher discount so did the comparison).</p>
<p>Buy him what he wants and knows. We were a PC family. Desktops and laptops, and Windows all the way. D1 wanted a Macbook. She had been exposed to Apple computers in the middle school computer lab. And my sister, a graphic artist, had one. She LONGED for a Mac. She got a Macbook and loves it. D2 wanted a PC. Windows 7 or nothing. Got her a great deal on a DELL. They are both happy and have no regrets. D1 is Mac for life. D2 is PC. </p>
<p>After D1 got her Macbook, I bought one refurbished on Ebay. I am using it now. I LOVE IT. I am getting old, and don’t always do well with change. Or new technology. I did not want to spend big bucks and be unhappy with it. I will use it until it dies. But look forward to the day I can buy one brand new :).</p>
<p>We used to be a PC family. My sister migrated to a Macbook. She loved it and convinced my mother, who is not very computer literate to switch. She did and has loved it. I would not want it and my father, who has to dig my mom out of holes on a daily basis, rue the day the darn Apple product entered in his life. </p>
<p>Fwiw, the repeated stories that Apple is easier to use and “control” is simply a myth. Many things on the Mac are unusually difficult for the average user. For instance, trying to connect to a Windows7 network is an exercise in futility. Connecting a new printer --unless it is MAC specific-- is NOT a simple process. I know, I just did it a few months ago. I could print wirelessly from my PC notebook within ten seconds. Took more than two hours of asinine steps to get the darn printer to recognize the MacBook. Getting the Macs on the existing network will simply not work. Want to discuss software? Try typing accents on your Mac and see how that is … intuitive! :)</p>
<p>But you have to admit that the MACs are nice looking machines, and that almost everyone who has one loves them. I also happen to believe that “most” people who loved them do not really do very much with them, except surf the web and check emails. And, usually with pretty awful programs such as Safari, Entourage, and similar shoddy items produced by Apple. </p>
<p>The PC, in general, will be considerably cheaper, and the difference in dollars for the more expensive Apple has seemingly gone in the cosmetics. It is all a matter of preferences. So, to each his or her own! :)</p>
<p>May I suggest dorm insurance (ie. [College</a> Student Insurance (CSI)](<a href=“http://www.collegestudentinsurance.com/]College”>http://www.collegestudentinsurance.com/)) for whatever new computer you decide to purchase? Because last year we discovered - the hard way - that ‘liquid damage’ to a computer is not covered by the extended manufacturer’s warranty (in my son’s case, AppleCare). We had to replace a 6-month old computer. Insurance premiums are a heckuva lot cheaper than buying a new computer :D.</p>
<p>We used to be a PC family, and I was the family’s system administrator, and now we all have macs, iPads, and everything Apple. I also no longer get any calls at work. I think most college students have macs now.</p>
<p>^^ I don’t think ‘most’ college students have Macs especially given that they’re more expensive when compared to a PC of similar power. Why do you say that?</p>
<p>All D1 friends have Mac, even D2 high school friends (outside of US) have Mac. When I travel and I see college students, they all pull out Mac. Sounds superficial, one of D1’s friends said to me, “people judge you when you don’t have a Mac.” I don’t think college students are into power or cost, it’s about image.</p>
<p>I issue Dell to people at work, but I have Mac for personal use, I travel with iPad.</p>
<p>Oldfort, would those kids be representative of the entire student populaton in the US? I do not know - I’ve seen more PC users than Mac users in my Husky town. :)</p>
<p>I agree wih thumper - get the kid what he wants. A discounted Mac will be more expensive than a PC.</p>
<p>Apple penetration in the computer market is now around ten percent so there are far more PC users compared to Mac users. I think that’s true in the college environment too. We’re a Mac household at this time and it has worked out well for our kids.</p>
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<p>It is a given that there are TONS of Macs in the campus I have visited. I would, however, not venture to advance that the majority is made out of Macs. One big change over the years is that you see fewer and fewer big desktops and more laptops. This change has surely worked in the favor of Apple. What I would venture to say is that there might also be a gender divide. Girls seem to carry more Apple computers than men. Maybe they like to visit the Genius Bar more often! </p>
<p>One test that could be useful is to see how much software is available for each computer in the school bookstore. In my experience, there is a lot less worthy and available for the Apple computers.</p>
<p>I have just completed several weeks of travel, and I have carried the usual weapons: iPhone for the US, Motorola phone for abroad, a laptop, and that iPad. Fwiw, I could have easily left the Ipad home as I used it almost exclusively in the Amex lounges at the airport and carried it on the plane. My notebook and Razr were packed in my suitcase. </p>
<p>Except for surfing the web or checking emails, I have yet to find any productive use that is not done easier and better on a notebook or laptop. Even the benefit that one does not have to start the iPad for security controls is a fat lie. Nobody in Europe seems to have heard about such rule! </p>
<p>The iPad is most definitely NOT a good choice for a college student as a main computer. It could work for (very) limited note taking, but place it in the category of iPhone or iPods.</p>
<p>PS Fwiw, laptops are becoming disposable items. The fact I would not switch to a Mac does not mean I think the Windows laptops are really good. I think it would be a miracle for a student to finish his or her academic career with the same computer. But then losing a 400 dollars Dell or Lenovo is less painful than bricking a pricier model.</p>
<p>I would check the IT/IS recommendations on the college website. We went with Dells because there was more (free) support for the kids from the help desk for PCs than with the Macs and they both went to small rural areas where I wasn’t sure they were going to find Mac support when needed. Sure my kids wanted Macs but they have enough cutting edge ‘stuff’ that I told them they weren’t going to be branded losers for having Dells. </p>
<p>I use both at work (and have both) but no tech support for the Macs, that we have to farm out to a vendor. I like the iPad but am not “wedded” to it and there is a slew of tablets hitting the market right now and I use a older Blackberry but I probably won’t go that route with the next phone, right now my Blackberry is just an old friend and I’m in a techy kind of job and get kidded plenty about it by the kids. I tell them I have grey hair and I AM their target market so get over it.</p>
<p>Get him what he is comfortable with and what works best for him. We’re a Mac family and our S’s campus is a Mac campus (except in certain majors). I’ve been self-employed for 25 years, which means I’m my own tech person. My computer maintenance costs went way down when I switched from Dell to Mac. I haven’t seen the Blue Screen of Death in five years, and my computer guy must think I died. I’ll never switch back, and neither would my son, who convinced me to switch in the first place. His MacBook will last beyond graduation next year. BTW, my Mac is my work computer and gets constant use all day because I am a writer and editor. I also manage finances, do taxes, and store, organize, and edit photos, among other things. I don’t use it just to surf the web and check e-mail.</p>
<p>If the student will be majoring in STEM, he might have to use some programs that do not have Mac versions. For word processing and graphics design Mac is OK, but D, who switched to bio from humanities and from a PC to a Mac, 
says that Excel for Mac “sucks”.</p>
<p>My son received his HP laptop today. He majors in engineering and has done some research/comparison on laptops. HP is the best choice as far as processing,graph and cost go.</p>