Any recommendations for a college laptop?

[priderocks]

My daughter, the world's most beautiful girl, is off to Texas State this fall. She needs a laptop but I know nothing about what features a laptop should have on it. Any of you digital natives have any recommendations for features?

[72hemi]

Depends on her major. If its science/math/engineering related a PC is the wya to go. If its an artsy major like graphic arts english etc an Apple product would probably be better.

[500Stroker]

Get a Dell.  Sent my son off to college with one 3.5 years ago.  Never had any problems with it.

[73Chally]

I have had a Lenova for a while.  It is what used to be the IBM Thinkpad.

[purple1]

The college IT dept. may have some minimum system requirements, see if you can find out. Also as stated the system requirements may depend on the subjects she wants to take. A graphics major will requre a more powerfull video in the machine for example. Other than that shop for the best deal you can find.

The longer you can wait to by a computer system, the better the systems on the market get. So if you can wait a little and shop you can get a better deal or more bang for the same buck. Also make sure to get a good anti-virus package.

[500Stroker]

You will also probably need Microsoft Office.  A great deal here at $59.95 for Ultimate 2007 for students.  You need a .edu email address to purchase

http://www.microsoft.com/student/discounts/theultimatesteal-us/default.aspx

Free upgrade to 2010 when it comes out.

http://office2010.microsoft.com/en-us/tech-guarantee/

[bordin34]

Check with the school, I know University of Maryland where I am going sells them at a discounted price through dell and apple.

[whitesatinmopar]

  This thread/topic title has had me in stiches since I first saw it,..............and I can't hold back any longer, please, I hope this offends no one but my ornery self can't stand it no longer..........

College gals and laptops seem to go together very nicely, and a young guy at college with a laptop that has lasted nearly four years with no problems,..........duh, ya got to use the darn thing for it to wear out. And of course Dave is always on top of puters and electronic equipment, wish I had half the knowledge Purple has about these things, I have enough problems with cut and paste, and that has been since first grade.  See, if they would have had head start and kindergarden when I went to school maybe I'd be smarter.........not. Just having fun guys.   

[72bluNblu]

My #1 recommendation- Get her the computer that she wants to use. 

Typically, if you're an engineering/science/math major, most of your programs will be PC related. But, with the software available, it's ridiculously easy to run Windows software emulators on an Apple. I did this over 8 years ago as an Aerospace Engineering major at UCLA, I used an Apple computer my entire college career and never had any issues running the software I needed to run at home. And the software I used is archaic compared to now, my Apple desktop running a DOS emulator and then my engineering software was still more stable than the vast majority of my buddy's PC's.  The really big ugly software has to be accessed from a campus computer lab anyway, and is too expensive to even think about buying yourself.

If she's a graphic design/art major, get an Apple. They don't make any Apple OS emulators to run on a PC, so, if you need an Apple, it has to be an Apple.

And any other major won't matter at all. So, it really comes down to what she wants and is comfortable using.

A big question that you do need to answer is, Does she really need a laptop? Laptops are usually almost twice as expensive as a comparable desktop, and are more likely to be damaged. Everyone I knew had a computer, but I, and a lot of others, made due with just a desktop. For me that's probably even a more important question than which kind to get.

[Bullitt-]

Made a mistake with my son & went for the biggest 17"...mistake, weighs to much & makes a lot of heat, for my girl we downsized to a 14" screen....much more manageable size & weight, get one with a camera so you can Skype....then the wife had to have one. 

[mcgheejt]

My SONY made it through tours in Iraq and Afghanistan with no problems.   

[geminiviper]

I have a Lenovo 3000 N200 (not sold anymore) but there are comparable models out there.  I got it for free from a school but it was only a $6-700 laptop tops.  It survived two trips to the middle east and several hard drive crashes.  Still runs great.  I'm currently using it as my school computer working on my Bachelors online.

[Road_Runner]

We had these same questions when we sent our daughter, (Georgia's most beautiful southern belle), off to University of Georgia  (for those that aren't familiar with UGA, Harvard is the U of G of the north), and I definitely agree with a couple of points already made:  #1) weight and size are critical, my daughter originally brought her 17" she had in high school and it was back breaking until we picked up a new & much lighter 14.x laptop.  #2) Unless she's going to be an engineering or art major, any current windows based laptop will likely do but to be sure you can contact the school's IT department.  UGA actually provides free security software which makes it easier for them to trouble-shoot issues connecting to the school's intranet, etc.  #3) Especially with girls, pick out one she likes.  My daughters came with the built in web cam which she has used to talk to my wife & occasionally me from school.  Very nice when you haven't seen your daughters face for a while!  #4) Battery life varies significantly.  Some have as little as 2 1/2 hours where others have better batteries that routinely last for 4 or more, just don't get one that has older battery technology but makes up for it with a large & heavy battery similar to what my job supplied, etc.  I would strongly suggest a decent sized 500GB - 1TB external drive for her to keep a backup of all her files on.  So much of what they do today is online so backups are a wise investment.  That and a $100 or so all in one printer/fax/copier and she should be good to go. 

Later, Jim