Re: OT: Laptop for College Bound Student?
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On 06/12/08 20:45, Douglas A. Tutty wrote:
[snip]
>
> If Windows isn't a requirement, you could also consider an off-lease
> business Thinkpad. In Kingston, Ontario, at Computer-Depot (a buisness
> class place not a clone of home-depot) last I saw they had thinkpads for
> around $250. You'd need to determine what specs are required, in other
> words, what apps he needs to run: does he _need_ 2 GB ram? If he just
> needs to write notes and essays, browse the web but doesn't have to
> interact with campus-specific software, then almost any functional
> laptop that runs Etch would do. He doesn't even have to use OpenOffice
> to write essays unless they have to be submitted in .doc format: he can
> use Latex.
>
> Basically it comes down to this: the decision on hardware is the last
> one to make when money is tight. Most consumers just buy a new piece of
> hardware and it will meet the requirements for a year or two: they stick
> to the bleeding-edge. When money is tight, you define the interface
> requirements (e.g. able to print out, or able to interface with the
> campus software), determine the software to do that, then determine the
> hardware required to run that software. Part of designating the
> interface is the physical realities: which will survive life in a
> back-pack better: Dell or Thinkpad?
The problem is that an entering freshman might not (probably won't,
unless he already knows someone in his general field at the Uni)
what software he'll need in 3 years.
A cutting-edge laptop will future-proof him. The problem, though,
is that cutting-edge laptops are juicy targets for theft.
Unless there's a requirement to have a *powerful* laptop in the
classroom or laboratory, I'd buy him a nice desktop and an el cheapo
laptop.
But then he'd probably hate me. However, being a teenager, he
probably already hates me...
- --
Ron Johnson, Jr.
Jefferson LA USA
"Kittens give Morbo gas. In lighter news, the city of New New
York is doomed."
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