Alright, I need to start looking for a laptop for college soon...

How big of a screen do I need? I've never owned a laptop before, so for one that I would be carrying to and from class, what's consider minimum, "preferred," and maximum, as far as sizes go?

Should I get a Mac over Winblows? I honestly have had 0 issues with my winblows, no stability issues, viruses, etc...

Also, is it true that Macs of the same price range deliver lesser performance compared to similarly equipped winblows computers?

Finally, what word processing software does Mac come with..? There's always Google Spreadsheet/Documents, but I'd like to have other choices.

Thanks.

 

Well, a 15" screen is fine for doing college stuff. If you are going to do any gaming or want to have a larger screen for DVD viewing sine you'll be in college, and youdon't mind lugging around the 17" honker, get a 17" but the weight difference can be signifcant and the battery life isn't that great on 17" laptops.

My 17" HP dv9000t is lucky if it gets 2 hrs on it's battery.

Also, in terms of mac or windows, honestly get what you feel most comfortable with.

will chime in about apple, although I have used them, I don't have enough experience to give you an honest answer as to which to get and I don't want to give you false info.

 

I've notice you're rather... anti Windows.... why don't you look into Mac's? Get something you're already familiar with...

but with that said... I just got a Gateway Tablet PC and absolutely love it... I think it's great for students... but the only feature that it's lacking that comes with the Toshiba Tablets is the finger print reading thingy.... it's pretty cool... from my understanding... you can program it so that when you are required to enter a password in any sites... (email, bank account, eBay... etc. etc...) you just need to swipe your finger (rather then entering a password).

 

I have a 14" HP and I think it's the perfect size for carrying to classes. Most 14" laptops are around 5 lbs. Anything bigger your back and shoulder will start complaining about it.

 

I'm not anti-Windows...I just like making fun of it.

BTW, I'm just uncomfortable with the added cost of Mac. I was also told that Macs of the same price range (compared to Winblows) is of a lesser performance. With that said, I only do basic office stuff with my PC anyway...not a gamer...so it's technically irrelevant, but at the same, I like to be getting the most for my money regardless.

 

I love the biometric securty feature. I haven't ever tried it, but the implementation of it sounds so much nicer and user friendly. How secure do you feel it is? Does it technically store your personal info in the computer and when you swipe your finger it fills in the forms for you? How does it know what field to fill out and where? Still cool though

 

What's your budget? And what brands are you happy with so we can throw out suggesstions for ya.

 

Will have to see what dad says, but knowing that, < $1500 I'd assume.

 

I don't know, cause my Tablet didn't come with that feature, I wish I had it though... The Toshibas and a company call Motion Computing (all they make a tablets and I believe they make the Gateway tabs too), have them...

 

for that much, you'll probably be getting a 15" which isn't bad by any means.

use the money to load up on other features like faster processor, RAM, hard disk space and a good video card if it comes with a dedicated card.

 

I just got my macbook 13.3' widescreen in september and friggin have been loving every second, the battery last nearly 5 hours in class when just taking notes and MSN. Its seems light to me aswell i have no complaints carrying it around campus all day. In terms of word processing software the mac comes with Iwork which is their own productivity stuff, but i installed MS office for MAC since its the standard. I just downloaded it off bit torrent screw paying MS. This is my first mac and i already wouldnt give it up for anything that runs Windows to me its no longer about that paper stats its all about the opperating system environment and to me OSX is simply the best. I'd say buy mac but if your not comfortable learning a new opperating system then the choice is already made. I think what you have heard about similar spec'd macs to pc's is kinda BS its a little of a old wives tale if you ask me. GoodLuck with your decision making!

 

Get a MacBook Pro 15", a copy of Parallels, and a copy of XP.

 

I use a 14.1" screen for 10+ hours a day and have no complaints.

 

since windows has given you no problems, do you call it winblows to appease the mac users?

im pretty happy with my 15" widescreen...would get a 17"er but dont want a bigger laptop..

 

I purposely went with a 14 inch screen for lighter weight and more portability. You can't go wrong with a 15" but anything bigger, and you'll start to regret lugging that thing around all day. If I had the dough, I would have gone with Dell's laptop with the 12" screen. You don't know how much you'll appreciate it, when you can fit all your notebooks/textbooks that you need for the day + your laptop in your backpack.

 

my newer one is 14", older one's 15"... I really don't even notice the difference, but in fact the 14" has better resolution and THAT I notice... the picture's a lot sharper...

 

if you're going to carry it around a lot, i'd say 15" max.

i just bought a 15" toshiba, but i don't really carry it around. i just use it as a desktop replacement. i would have gotten a 17", but i was on a strict budget and wanted to spend less than $1,000.

the battery life isn't that great...about 2.5-3 hours it seems. but i just take the battery out and use the a/c unless i'm using it on the couch.

as for mac/windows, that's a personal decision...you should go with what suits you.

 

we have 100 recently active Mac vs Windows threads, so im not going to get into it here.

if you really care, read any other thread.

so far as screen size...

I've had 12", 15", and 17" laptops.

17" is awesome when you need a desktop that you can carry with you, but carrying it is no easy feat. Even if it didn't weigh much, it's simply cumbersome and awkward. The 17" MacBook Pro is currently my main system. Thankfully, it spends 95% of it's time on my desk or on my coffee table. Any more time outside with it and I'd kill myself.

We've a 15" Dell and I had a 15" Powerbook, both are a happy medium so far as size is concerned. Good resolution and carry-able. Although, even they start to feel heavy after a day in your backpack.

I just bought Mandi a 12" MacBook and I have to say that if I planned to be very mobile (like a student) that it would be my first choice. It offers a great resolution screen in a lightweight and comfortable package.

Even ignoring weight for a minute, it's just the size of the thing that, for me, makes the biggest difference. You can literally pick up a 12" laptop with two fingers and wield it around. You can't comfortably do that with a 15" and you can't do it at all with a 17".

 

correction: I forgot the MacBook's are 13" now.

So, 13" gets my vote.

Anything less then 15" is great if you're on the move alot.

If you'll spend 50% or more of your time on a desk at home, then a 15" is good compromise.

If spending more then like 85% of your time at home on a desk, then 17" becomes reasonable.

 

For college, I would go with the 15 over the 17. My old laptop is a 15 inch Toshiba. I never had a problem with it at all. My new Dell is a 15.4 inch wide screan. It's nice, so I would recommend either a 15 or 15.4 inch screan.

Good luck.

 

imo, go for the Dell D620 model. i have the 15" core 2 duo model w/2GB ram and basically given up my desktop all together.

 

Soda, I PM you a coupon for Dell.

 

you will not be carrying your laptop to class much for your first two years...

(also, the more you transport it the more risk you run to damage it...

That said...I would highly reccomend the 13" macbook for basic college stuff...

I have a 14" ibook as my laptop (over 3.5 years old now) and it is still very capipable, not to heavy and not too big. Just started into my 4th year of classes too...

 

www.techbargains.com is a good site for deals on computers. they'll have coupons there too.

 

Sony and Apple will both have 19" displays this year.

I lug my laptop everywhere, so I appreciate the lighter weight and compactness of the 15. The 17 is great if you don't travel much with your machine, but even still, I see a lot of people on airplanes that have a 17 these days.

 

I got my wife a 17" Dell a couple years back for her Bday. I set it to the highest res for the screen. She has knock it down some. She says the screen it too big and the high res make the items too small.

 

My laptop has it. It is great, I don't have to remember all the passwords and usernames for different sites......just scan and bada bing. I am a student and have a 17" screen. It' more of a portable desk top than a laptop. I would never consider bringing it to classes with me every day. However, its great for movies etc. If I was able to chose all over again I would buy the 15" widescreen version of the comp I have. You could always go for a 13" and then have a larger monitor in your room, but this all depends on how much $$ you have and your personal preference.

 

Regardless of what laptop you get, be sure to look at this thread if you need help finding a bag for it:

https://acurazine.com/forums/technology-16/laptop-notebook-bags-need-suggestions-352562/

 

Like most of the folks here have already stated, you should get a laptop with a 15" screen, or less. Since you are a student, I would get a 12-13" screen as you won't need a large screen when you are on campus.

Having a light and small laptop is going to fare much better in class, since, (at least at UC Davis), the desks are very small that you can barely fit a 8.5" x 11" piece of paper on it.

 

yep, the smaller (12-13") laptops are much better for shared spaces like at a cafe bar too.

i couldn't be bothered opening a screen larger then 13" at a Starbucks. heh

 

I agree with the smaller the better comments.

Was carrying a laptop common practice at other schools, it never happened at mine.

 

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTE...Dept=computers

get one of those! nice and small with excellent battery life.

 

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That is some mad bank right there!

At those prices, you would be better off getting a Core Duo MacBook

 

I use dell latitude d410. it has 12 inch screen, and being college student , it helps to carry light as possible. my labtop weighs only 3.5 pounds or something like that. Now this model has been replaced by d420, a widescreen version. Sure keyboards are small, but it's not that bad afterall. However I use bluetooth keyboard paired up with my labtop, so when I'm home I can use full keyboard wirelessly, with nothing plugged up to the labtop. and at the price range that you are expecting, this sure beats sony.

 

Before someone laughs at you- it's called a Laptop.

 

too late, i laughed

 

my bad

oh so labtop =/= laptop?

 

the funny thing is... There IS a company call "Labtop"

http://www.labtop.com/system.html

 

Go with the Macbook. I used to have an iBook G4 (1 GHZ, 12'' which was a little too small yet had great portability) and all I can say is that it was GREAT! It was faster than my mom's 2.8 GHZ PC and had 1/2 the ram. The new Macbooks are widescreen 13'' which should be less of a hassle to use when it comes to viewing capabilities.

I used to own a Window's, then got the iBook and will never go back. I recently bought an iMac because of my amazing experience with Apple.

As far as word processing goes, you could buy "Microsoft Office: mac" if you would like or what I prefer, 'Pages" which comes in the "iWork" package including "Keynote", a Powerpoint based program.

Matt