Buying a Laptop, (notebook) for a potential University student

[Derrick Fawsitt]

I am currently considering the purchase of a Laptop for my Daughter's
Twenty First birthday and am suffering many hints from her that I must
not choose it for her but that she must have a say in it. While I have a
certain amount of sympathy for that viewpoint, as I am the person
forking out the money I consider it reasonable that I should have some
sort of say in the matter.
I have spent many hours "doing my homework" taking into account her
vague description of her requirements but am as wise now as when I
started out to look. I seem to understand from her remarks that she
needs graphics ability and plenty of RAM. Although I am a Computer
"nerd" and fairly well informed about IT, it is only in relation to
Desktops, not Laptops. I would want her to have the latest Wi-Fi
capabilities but not to have to pay "over the top" for it. It will be
linked, (when at home), to my ADSL 2M system and I am really unaware how
that will affect me when she is using her Laptop on the same ISP. Can
anyone spare a little time to advise which make and model represents the
best "bang for the buck" and also if I should go the "Dell or Gateway"
route rather than the high street retailer.
I have about three days left to "gen-up" on my inadequate knowledge of
Laptops and what is important, do please someone help!!

 

[Alias]

Get a Dell.
--
Alias

Use the Reply to Sender feature of your news reader program to email me.

Utiliza Responder al Remitente para mandarme un mail.
:I am currently considering the purchase of a Laptop for my Daughter's
: Twenty First birthday and am suffering many hints from her that I must
: not choose it for her but that she must have a say in it. While I have a
: certain amount of sympathy for that viewpoint, as I am the person
: forking out the money I consider it reasonable that I should have some
: sort of say in the matter.
: I have spent many hours "doing my homework" taking into account her
: vague description of her requirements but am as wise now as when I
: started out to look. I seem to understand from her remarks that she
: needs graphics ability and plenty of RAM. Although I am a Computer
: "nerd" and fairly well informed about IT, it is only in relation to
: Desktops, not Laptops. I would want her to have the latest Wi-Fi
: capabilities but not to have to pay "over the top" for it. It will be
: linked, (when at home), to my ADSL 2M system and I am really unaware how
: that will affect me when she is using her Laptop on the same ISP. Can
: anyone spare a little time to advise which make and model represents the
: best "bang for the buck" and also if I should go the "Dell or Gateway"
: route rather than the high street retailer.
: I have about three days left to "gen-up" on my inadequate knowledge of
: Laptops and what is important, do please someone help!!
: --
: Derrick Fawsitt

 

[Guest]

eI get this question frequently and have always answered it with "Dell".
At this time, Dell is offering $200.00 off the 9200 model, which should
satisfy her requirements. You may wish to upgrade the HD size, get Wirelss
"G" and a longer battery life.
It would be nice to know more about what she intends to do with it
(Graphics, Games, P2P, Video): a laptop will not equal a desktop in these
areas.
Of the 6 or 7 machines I have purchased and set up, none has suffered any
problems whatsoever.
You will see a loss in bandwidth on your DSL connection, but in most cases
it will not be significant or even noticeable.
Best of luck.

 

[Jim Macklin]

I second that and will further say, ask the college she
attends what they suggest as far as type of WiFi they
support.
Get a laptop with XP Pro installed and MS OFFICE since most
colleges use that for the work. You might save some money
buy the OFFICE in the after-market or from the college at
student discounts, which might be better than OEM from Dell.
Be sure to get a version of OFFICE that has all the
applications she'll need, PowerPoint, WORD and Excel are in
all version, but she might need Access, so do your home-work
on the software bundles.

Dell offers XP Pro upgrades, for price reasons they show
Home on the default standard, but going to Pro is less than
$100 up-front. She will need probably need to join a domain
on the school network, so get XP Pro.
If graphics are her "wishlist" get a big display, 15 inch or
bigger Dell 8600 or 9200 models. Be sure to go through the
customize order list very completely to see all the options
or you'll be sorry later.


--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.


| Get a Dell.
| --
| Alias
|
| Use the Reply to Sender feature of your news reader
program to email me.
|
| Utiliza Responder al Remitente para mandarme un mail.
message
| | :I am currently considering the purchase of a Laptop for
my Daughter's
| : Twenty First birthday and am suffering many hints from
her that I must
| : not choose it for her but that she must have a say in
it. While I have a
| : certain amount of sympathy for that viewpoint, as I am
the person
| : forking out the money I consider it reasonable that I
should have some
| : sort of say in the matter.
| : I have spent many hours "doing my homework" taking into
account her
| : vague description of her requirements but am as wise now
as when I
| : started out to look. I seem to understand from her
remarks that she
| : needs graphics ability and plenty of RAM. Although I am
a Computer
| : "nerd" and fairly well informed about IT, it is only in
relation to
| : Desktops, not Laptops. I would want her to have the
latest Wi-Fi
| : capabilities but not to have to pay "over the top" for
it. It will be
| : linked, (when at home), to my ADSL 2M system and I am
really unaware how
| : that will affect me when she is using her Laptop on the
same ISP. Can
| : anyone spare a little time to advise which make and
model represents the
| : best "bang for the buck" and also if I should go the
"Dell or Gateway"
| : route rather than the high street retailer.
| : I have about three days left to "gen-up" on my
inadequate knowledge of
| : Laptops and what is important, do please someone help!!
| : --
| : Derrick Fawsitt
|
|

 

[Leythos]

I am currently considering the purchase of a Laptop for my Daughter's
Twenty First birthday and am suffering many hints from her that I must
not choose it for her but that she must have a say in it. While I have a
certain amount of sympathy for that viewpoint, as I am the person
forking out the money I consider it reasonable that I should have some
sort of say in the matter.
I have spent many hours "doing my homework" taking into account her
vague description of her requirements but am as wise now as when I
started out to look. I seem to understand from her remarks that she
needs graphics ability and plenty of RAM. Although I am a Computer
"nerd" and fairly well informed about IT, it is only in relation to
Desktops, not Laptops. I would want her to have the latest Wi-Fi
capabilities but not to have to pay "over the top" for it. It will be
linked, (when at home), to my ADSL 2M system and I am really unaware how
that will affect me when she is using her Laptop on the same ISP. Can
anyone spare a little time to advise which make and model represents the
best "bang for the buck" and also if I should go the "Dell or Gateway"
route rather than the high street retailer.
I have about three days left to "gen-up" on my inadequate knowledge of
Laptops and what is important, do please someone help!!

I would suggest that she doesn't need anything fancy. I just did a
virus/update for a sorority with 40 girls in it. Every one of them had a
computer, only 3 were laptops. All but 1 computer was infected with
spyware or a virus from the previous years Dorm living.

I would suggest that the laptop have the following qualities:

Centrino CPU (longer battery life for classes)
384meg to 512meg of RAM
30GB Hard Drive
DVD/CD-RW drive
Wireless - although this could be a problem
NIC - built-in wired network port, not a dongle type
Small Printer - something current so that she can get ink for it
Windows XP Home - Service Pack 2 installed
File/Printer sharing disabled
XP Firewall Enabled (at least)
Norton Antivirus 2005 - updated and running before going to school.
External USB optical mouse.

At the campus store they can often purchase a software bundle that
contains anti-virus, MS Office, and several other apps for about $150,
it's a good deal. Check on this and give her the money to purchase MS
Office 2003 and let her install it - it's really simple.

The wireless issue is where you may have problems, there are 4 wireless
hotspots within distance of the sorority and none of them belong to the
sorority - they are all exposed and open (not protected). You don't want
to use a hotspot unless you have permission, and it could be used to get
into the laptop for malicious purposes.

As for sharing your network, as long as you have a router or wireless
router or router and an access point, and as long as her machine is not
infected (See AV software above), there should be no problems.

 

[wh0cares]

<snip

Laptops and what is important, do please someone help!!

If your daughter is living away from home (eg university halls) do not buy a
laptop they are very easily stolen and she will lose all of her work. If she
carries it in to Uni she will be a target for muggers. Also when they break
down it takes an age to fix (and they normally break down a couple of days
before course work dead lines).



I wish Universities and colleges would warn people not to buy lap tops for
security reasons. Whilst at Uni one of my flat mates had her nose broken for
a lap top. She was a complete mess for weeks afterwards and lost all of her
work. Another friend had a house party and somebody walked of with his
laptop again all of his work was lost.



I would recommend a PDA and a Desktop unit (it will work out cheaper). A PDA
can be hidden in a coat or hand bag so it will not mark your daughter out as
a target. And a desktop PC is considerably cheaper than a laptop.

 

[Jim Macklin]

A good suggestion. Also, get a card reader and a few CF
cards, 1 GB cards are now less than $75 and you can save a
ton of files in a small space and they are handier (IMHO)
than thumb drives.


--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.


| <snip
| > Laptops and what is important, do please someone help!!
| > --
| > Derrick Fawsitt
|
| If your daughter is living away from home (eg university
halls) do not buy a
| laptop they are very easily stolen and she will lose all
of her work. If she
| carries it in to Uni she will be a target for muggers.
Also when they break
| down it takes an age to fix (and they normally break down
a couple of days
| before course work dead lines).
|
|
|
| I wish Universities and colleges would warn people not to
buy lap tops for
| security reasons. Whilst at Uni one of my flat mates had
her nose broken for
| a lap top. She was a complete mess for weeks afterwards
and lost all of her
| work. Another friend had a house party and somebody walked
of with his
| laptop again all of his work was lost.
|
|
|
| I would recommend a PDA and a Desktop unit (it will work
out cheaper). A PDA
| can be hidden in a coat or hand bag so it will not mark
your daughter out as
| a target. And a desktop PC is considerably cheaper than a
laptop.
|
|

 

[Chris Priede]

It will be linked, (when at home), to my ADSL 2M system and I am really
unaware how that will affect me when she is using her Laptop on the same
ISP.

Besides the laptop, you will want to invest in a wireless broadband
router -- which you will basically plug in between your DSL modem and your
computer. This will provide wireless connectivity in your home and enable
both of you to share your connection.

Can anyone spare a little time to advise which make and model
represents the best "bang for the buck" and also if I should go the
"Dell or Gateway" route rather than the high street retailer.

IBM Thinkpads are hard to beat for durability and quality construction. On
the other hand, Dell is great at servicing their accidental damage
protection plans (which cost extra, but would be highly recommended for a
student). Both IBM and Dell have frequent sales and I would suggest you
choose between the two. Either way, wou will get a better deal on a better
product than you would at a retail store.

Something you should think about when you make your decision on a specific
model is size and weight. There has been a trend lately to pack a lot of
power in a cheap and large package; these are likely to be the lowest priced
options that will grab your attention first. However, bulky laptops usually
end up being left at home (dorm?) and serving as lousy desktop
replacements.

You may want to visit a store to get an idea what different sizes look and
feel like. Will your daughter carry around a 15" screen, 2" thick, 8lbs
laptop? If not and you get her one, you've wasted your money. Bigger is
*not* better.

A lot more could be said on this subject. Hopefully this will help, along
with the responses from others.

 

[Leythos]

If your daughter is living away from home (eg university halls) do not buy a
laptop they are very easily stolen and she will lose all of her work. If she
carries it in to Uni she will be a target for muggers. Also when they break
down it takes an age to fix (and they normally break down a couple of days
before course work dead lines).

I hate to tell you this, but anything not bolted down will be stolen in
most school environments. Any local computer store can sell you a laptop
lock, some even had audible alarms. A PDA is not enough for any school
work, a small laptop is the only way to go.

As for breaking, it's all in how you use them. I have clients with
laptops that are almost 7 years old that still work, I personally have a
laptop with about 90 trips across the country that's more than 4 years
old that works perfectly.

If the kid treats the laptop like they purchased it themselves, they
will have it for a long time

 

[lew]

I am currently considering the purchase of a Laptop for my Daughter's
Twenty First birthday and am suffering many hints from her that I must
not choose it for her but that she must have a say in it. While I have a
certain amount of sympathy for that viewpoint, as I am the person
forking out the money I consider it reasonable that I should have some
sort of say in the matter.
I have spent many hours "doing my homework" taking into account her
vague description of her requirements but am as wise now as when I
started out to look. I seem to understand from her remarks that she
needs graphics ability and plenty of RAM. Although I am a Computer
"nerd" and fairly well informed about IT, it is only in relation to
Desktops, not Laptops. I would want her to have the latest Wi-Fi
capabilities but not to have to pay "over the top" for it. It will be
linked, (when at home), to my ADSL 2M system and I am really unaware how
that will affect me when she is using her Laptop on the same ISP. Can
anyone spare a little time to advise which make and model represents the
best "bang for the buck" and also if I should go the "Dell or Gateway"
route rather than the high street retailer.
I have about three days left to "gen-up" on my inadequate knowledge of
Laptops and what is important, do please someone help!!

I think that DELL is the one that is usually available at the bookstore
or online at a student discount.

Also check with the bookstore prior to getting the os to see if the
college has a m$ agreement whereby teacher & staff get winxp & office
for free AND the students get HUGE discounts, e.g. u of Texas "sells"
winxp pro upgrade for $6, Calif universities: old aggrement, $17 & new
agreement: $79 AND other schools may have different amount of savings
& requirements.

Plus check the college's website for their IT's recommendations & what
network connections are available....think most now have free wireless
thru-out the campus at various locations (get a map). The "price" of
a wireless campus connection is just(usually?) getting a free school
network account.

 

[Alias]

Wow ... almost makes me want to go back to school ...
--
Alias

Use the Reply to Sender feature of your news reader program to email me.

Utiliza Responder al Remitente para mandarme un mail.

: In article <[email protected]>, Derrick Fawsitt
wrote:
: > I am currently considering the purchase of a Laptop for my Daughter's
: > Twenty First birthday and am suffering many hints from her that I must
: > not choose it for her but that she must have a say in it. While I have a
: > certain amount of sympathy for that viewpoint, as I am the person
: > forking out the money I consider it reasonable that I should have some
: > sort of say in the matter.
: > I have spent many hours "doing my homework" taking into account her
: > vague description of her requirements but am as wise now as when I
: > started out to look. I seem to understand from her remarks that she
: > needs graphics ability and plenty of RAM. Although I am a Computer
: > "nerd" and fairly well informed about IT, it is only in relation to
: > Desktops, not Laptops. I would want her to have the latest Wi-Fi
: > capabilities but not to have to pay "over the top" for it. It will be
: > linked, (when at home), to my ADSL 2M system and I am really unaware how
: > that will affect me when she is using her Laptop on the same ISP. Can
: > anyone spare a little time to advise which make and model represents the
: > best "bang for the buck" and also if I should go the "Dell or Gateway"
: > route rather than the high street retailer.
: > I have about three days left to "gen-up" on my inadequate knowledge of
: > Laptops and what is important, do please someone help!!
:
: I think that DELL is the one that is usually available at the bookstore
: or online at a student discount.
:
: Also check with the bookstore prior to getting the os to see if the
: college has a m$ agreement whereby teacher & staff get winxp & office
: for free AND the students get HUGE discounts, e.g. u of Texas "sells"
: winxp pro upgrade for $6, Calif universities: old aggrement, $17 & new
: agreement: $79 AND other schools may have different amount of savings
: & requirements.
:
: Plus check the college's website for their IT's recommendations & what
: network connections are available....think most now have free wireless
: thru-out the campus at various locations (get a map). The "price" of
: a wireless campus connection is just(usually?) getting a free school
: network account.
:

 

[Derrick Fawsitt]

I am stunned by the kindness, knowledge, experience and expertise shown
in "all" of the above replys. I now have enough to go on and will be
printing out various details from the thread so far. Can I humbly thank
you all on behalf of my offspring, she would be mortified with
embarrassment if she knew I had asked for public advice but I am also
sure she would be so grateful. I will tell her where I got my "vast"
knowledge in a few days...weeks...maybe months, when I have made sure I
have an escape route ;-))
Again, all my thanks, I will now go through the posts again to add up
all the wisdom therein.

 

[Jim Macklin]

You're welcome and wish your student good luck.


--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.


message |I am stunned by the kindness, knowledge, experience and
expertise shown
| in "all" of the above replys. I now have enough to go on
and will be
| printing out various details from the thread so far. Can I
humbly thank
| you all on behalf of my offspring, she would be mortified
with
| embarrassment if she knew I had asked for public advice
but I am also
| sure she would be so grateful. I will tell her where I got
my "vast"
| knowledge in a few days...weeks...maybe months, when I
have made sure I
| have an escape route ;-))
| Again, all my thanks, I will now go through the posts
again to add up
| all the wisdom therein.
| --
| Derrick Fawsitt

 

[zibby]

Don't get Dell

 

[Leythos]

Don't get Dell

Don't be lame. I've purchase more than 100 Dell laptops in the last 12
months and only had 1 problem - a bad CD-ROM drive.

 

[Derrick Fawsitt]

Don't be lame. I've purchase more than 100 Dell laptops in the last 12
months and only had 1 problem - a bad CD-ROM drive.
--

Yes, it seems its between a Dell, (directly purchased, that is if they
ever answer the phone), or a Toshiba from Dixons, assuming they ever
bring their prices down. This appears to be where the debate is, correct
me?

 

[Ron Martell]

I am currently considering the purchase of a Laptop for my Daughter's
Twenty First birthday and am suffering many hints from her that I must
not choose it for her but that she must have a say in it. While I have a
certain amount of sympathy for that viewpoint, as I am the person
forking out the money I consider it reasonable that I should have some
sort of say in the matter.
I have spent many hours "doing my homework" taking into account her
vague description of her requirements but am as wise now as when I
started out to look. I seem to understand from her remarks that she
needs graphics ability and plenty of RAM. Although I am a Computer
"nerd" and fairly well informed about IT, it is only in relation to
Desktops, not Laptops. I would want her to have the latest Wi-Fi
capabilities but not to have to pay "over the top" for it. It will be
linked, (when at home), to my ADSL 2M system and I am really unaware how
that will affect me when she is using her Laptop on the same ISP. Can
anyone spare a little time to advise which make and model represents the
best "bang for the buck" and also if I should go the "Dell or Gateway"
route rather than the high street retailer.
I have about three days left to "gen-up" on my inadequate knowledge of
Laptops and what is important, do please someone help!!

There are a number of good notebook computer brands, including Dell
although there has been some dissatisfaction expressed recently with
the quality of the less-expensive series of Dell notebooks (Inspiron).
Also Dell has recently moved most of their tech support services to
India and there has been some dissatisfaction expressed with the
quality of the responses being provided.

Another brand that has had good reports from people whose opinions I
trust is Medion, which are sold in the U.S. in Aldi stores. Very good
value for the money and no problems with hardware failures or other
warranty issues.

One point to consider is which version of Windows comes with the
computer you purchase. Many Universities require students to have
Windows XP Professional on their machines in order to get full access
to the University computer network. You need to check this out before
making the purchase as getting one with XP Home and then having to
purchase an XP Pro upgrade is a considerable additional expense.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."

 

[Anon y mous]

Your operative words: Bang for the buck: WINBOOK. We've had them at work
and they are very good. Toshiba is good, but will cost more than a
Winbook. You can find them at Micro-Center.

Others such as Compaq and others tend to put proprietary stuff in the
background.. that slows the computers down quite a bit compared to their
processor speeds.

An extended warrantee might also be a good investment.

 

[Leythos]

One point to consider is which version of Windows comes with the
computer you purchase. Many Universities require students to have
Windows XP Professional on their machines in order to get full access
to the University computer network. You need to check this out before
making the purchase as getting one with XP Home and then having to
purchase an XP Pro upgrade is a considerable additional expense.

Not one of the 275+ computers we've worked on at OSU has needed XP
Professional for the students to access resources on the school network.

 

[Jim Macklin]

OSU is only one school out of thousands, each school will
have different requirements, if in doubt, get Pro since it
is only $80 more (Dell) if ordered originally.


| In article <[email protected]>,
| (e-mail address removed) says...
| > One point to consider is which version of Windows comes
with the
| > computer you purchase. Many Universities require
students to have
| > Windows XP Professional on their machines in order to
get full access
| > to the University computer network. You need to check
this out before
| > making the purchase as getting one with XP Home and then
having to
| > purchase an XP Pro upgrade is a considerable additional
expense.
|
| Not one of the 275+ computers we've worked on at OSU has
needed XP
| Professional for the students to access resources on the
school network.
|
| --
| --
| (e-mail address removed)
| (Remove 999 to reply to me)