A friend of mine is searching for a laptop for her son for college.

My daughter has a dell and I have a broken compaq but I'm still
finding it hard to determine what manufacture makes a solid laptop
that lasts.

I haven't owned an apple or a sony to compare to so that makes helping

her find one even harder.

Would any of you recommend a name brand that you would buy if you had
a son going to college and you had about 1200 to spend.

Thank you for all your help,

Steve

mtech wrote:

> A friend of mine is searching for a laptop for her son for college.
> Would any of you recommend a name brand that you would buy if you had
> a son going to college and you had about 1200 to spend.

Often times the college dictates the "type" of computer it requires (i.e.:
PC or Mac and/or Linux).

Have just oompeleted putting three daughters through college I will say, the
BEST luck came with using the Apple iBook notebook ($750-1100) depending on
place of purchase and model/options. If you do this, be sure that what
ever you purchase has both Internal RJ45 10/100 network adapter AND
Internal 802.11g wireless built in.

Also, no RAM wise, no less than 512MB and buy as MUCH HDD as you can afford
(or you will be upgrading at some time.

Check your college's bookstore/computer store for "deals" as they usually
offer manufacturer sponsored specials periodically.

hope this helps.

In article <12saq8ck95kbh7a@news.supernews.com>, mtech <no@spam.invalid> wrote:
>A friend of mine is searching for a laptop for her son for college.
>
>My daughter has a dell and I have a broken compaq but I'm still
>finding it hard to determine what manufacture makes a solid laptop
>that lasts.
>
>I haven't owned an apple or a sony to compare to so that makes helping
>
>her find one even harder.
>
>Would any of you recommend a name brand that you would buy if you had
>a son going to college and you had about 1200 to spend.
>
>Thank you for all your help,
>
>Steve
>

Get a brand and model that offers good service options. IMO,
get a three-year on-site service agreement.

Avoid third-part service agreements at all cost.

Ask the school if they have any discount agreements and what software
they expect the students to have before you make any decision.



--
a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m
Don't blame me. I voted for Gore. A Proud signature since 2001

mtech wrote:
> A friend of mine is searching for a laptop for her son for college.

What's his major?

If it's engineering, business, or any hard science, I'd get the Dell
D620, Dell D820, Compaq nc8430, or Fujitsu Lifebook E8110.

Try to get the business models, rather than the consumer models.

If it's journalism or English, or similar, than a MacBook might be a
better choice.

Al Dykes wrote:

> Ask the school if they have any discount agreements and what software
> they expect the students to have before you make any decision.

Other than for Apple, the school's discount agreements usually don't
save you anything over the offers that companies like Dell have for
anyone, or that HP sells through Costco for anyone.

mtech wrote:
> A friend of mine is searching for a laptop for her son for college.
>
> My daughter has a dell and I have a broken compaq but I'm still
> finding it hard to determine what manufacture makes a solid laptop
> that lasts.
>
> I haven't owned an apple or a sony to compare to so that makes helping
>
> her find one even harder.
>
> Would any of you recommend a name brand that you would buy if you had
> a son going to college and you had about 1200 to spend.
>
> Thank you for all your help,
>
> Steve

One other thing to consider is a machine that has a docking connector on
the bottom.

It's nice when you get back to the dorm or apartment to plop the
notebook into a dock, and use a standard keyboard and mouse, and an
external monitor, without having to deal with any cables. It'll make the
laptop last longer. Often the docks have some kind of security system as
well, though most laptops also have a Kensington lock slot. Laptops are
popular items to steal on college campuses. I think a small safe,
similar to hotel room safes, should be included in dorm rooms.

Avoid Sony.

You won't get everyone to agree, but if you took a poll I think that the
top 3 brands would be (in no particular order) Dell, Lenovo (Thinkpad)
and Toshiba. Even within brands, there are major differences by model.
In the Dell line, you are probably looking for an E1505 or perhaps
E1405 if the smaller screen is acceptable (but the machine is smaller
and lighter). In Toshiba models, probably an A105 or A135 series. Some
people would add HP or Compaq models to their list (I would not).

Personally, I'd avoid a model with a Celeron processor; look for a Core
Duo or Core 2 Duo (slightly better, but only slightly and more
expensive). I'd avoid any laptop that comes with Vista Home Basic.

If you can find a model that still has XP before March 15th, the upgrade
to Vista should be free and should be to Vista Home Premium ***IF*** the
laptop comes with XP Media Center Edition or XP Pro; models with XP Home
get the crappy Vista Home Basic AND you have to pay for that, so I'd
avoid them. All free and discounted upgrades on machines preloaded with
XP end on March 15th.

I would also only consider laptops that have a DVD burner; in my
opinion, a "combo" drive (reads DVDs but can't burn them) is no longer
adequate.

Good news: You don't need to spend $1,200. You can get a great machine
with everything you need for quite a bit less than that (probably $650
to $900).

If you are buying a Dell, be sure to check the deals on
www.techbargains.com; they have coupons that can save you hundreds of
dollars (you will still make the actual purchase directly from Dell).
You can get a very nice E1505 for $800 using the coupons.


mtech wrote:
> A friend of mine is searching for a laptop for her son for college.
>
> My daughter has a dell and I have a broken compaq but I'm still
> finding it hard to determine what manufacture makes a solid laptop
> that lasts.
>
> I haven't owned an apple or a sony to compare to so that makes helping
>
> her find one even harder.
>
> Would any of you recommend a name brand that you would buy if you had
> a son going to college and you had about 1200 to spend.
>
> Thank you for all your help,
>
> Steve
>

In article <45c61000$0$68957$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net>,
SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote:
>mtech wrote:
>> A friend of mine is searching for a laptop for her son for college.
>>
>> My daughter has a dell and I have a broken compaq but I'm still
>> finding it hard to determine what manufacture makes a solid laptop
>> that lasts.
>>
>> I haven't owned an apple or a sony to compare to so that makes helping
>>
>> her find one even harder.
>>
>> Would any of you recommend a name brand that you would buy if you had
>> a son going to college and you had about 1200 to spend.
>>
>> Thank you for all your help,
>>
>> Steve
>
>One other thing to consider is a machine that has a docking connector on
>the bottom.
>
>It's nice when you get back to the dorm or apartment to plop the
>notebook into a dock, and use a standard keyboard and mouse, and an
>external monitor, without having to deal with any cables. It'll make the
>laptop last longer. Often the docks have some kind of security system as
>well, though most laptops also have a Kensington lock slot. Laptops are
>popular items to steal on college campuses. I think a small safe,
>similar to hotel room safes, should be included in dorm rooms.


Remember to buy a kennsington-type cable lock the day you buy
the laptop.


--
a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m
Don't blame me. I voted for Gore. A Proud signature since 2001

Al Dykes wrote:

> Remember to buy a kennsington-type cable lock the day you buy
> the laptop.

At least it may stop the casual thief, but it really is easy to cut that
cable.

Surprisingly, it turns out that it's easy to pick, also, with just a
soda straw.


SMS wrote:
> Al Dykes wrote:
>
>> Remember to buy a kennsington-type cable lock the day you buy the laptop.
>
> At least it may stop the casual thief, but it really is easy to cut that
> cable.

In article <45c6a70f$0$16980$4c368faf@roadrunner.com>,
Barry Watzman <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote:
>Surprisingly, it turns out that it's easy to pick, also, with just a
>soda straw.
>

Old models, yes, and I expect that any new lock is pickable by
*somebody*. I think the've changed the lock to make it harder.

The cable lock is to allow you to turn aroun for a moment and not to
worry about the laptop suddenly growing feet.

NOTE: If you get the keyed version, make sure you write down the key
number so you can order replacement keys.



>
>SMS wrote:
>> Al Dykes wrote:
>>
>>> Remember to buy a kennsington-type cable lock the day you buy the laptop.
>>
>> At least it may stop the casual thief, but it really is easy to cut that
>> cable.


--
a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m
Don't blame me. I voted for Gore. A Proud signature since 2001

Barry Watzman wrote:
> Surprisingly, it turns out that it's easy to pick, also, with just a
> soda straw.

Just like the Krypronite Bike Locks, which could be picked with a pen!