student laptops

Savvy_Sue

indiegirl wrote:

If your daughter regularly backs up the work she needs onto CD(RW)/DVD(RW)/USB key, then she'll always have a backup IF it does go wrong.

That little word IF is the key here, isn't it? There is more of a danger of dropping it than there is with a desktop machine, so regular backups are more important than ever.

Also they're easier to nick, so insurance is vital. Some people take separate laptop insurance out, some add it to their 'normal' student policy.

So when the decision is made, think of those two things as well!

pavlovs_dog

good point there sue!

btw, whats happened to your old sig? it always used to make me giggle!

ag359

David88 wrote:

If you get a Return to Base (RTB) warranty then this may be the case (although I think normally you can send it by courier?), but if you get an Onsite Warranty (more expensive) then they will send out an engineer to you who will fix it at your home.

Yes, of course, but it can be quite a bit more expensive, and still doesn't guarantee quick service (unless you pay even more for 24 hour repair or whatever). I still stand by what I said - get a laptop that will be reliable.

David88_2

Yes, of course, but it can be quite a bit more expensive, and still doesn't guarantee quick service (unless you pay even more for 24 hour repair or whatever). I still stand by what I said - get a laptop that will be reliable.

Obviously buying from a reliable brand in the first place is a very good idea. The turn around may not be quick on repairs but most universities seem to have good IT systems so if your work is backed up off your laptop then you shouldn't have too much problems.

As for making sure your work is backed up I use a gmail account with 2 gig of storage, I simply send an email to my gmail address from my gmail address with any important files attached, either as a zip or seperately at the end of every session on the computer where I have edited the files. There is a 10mb attachment limit, but its not normally a problem. (If anyone wants an invite for gmail pm me with your email address)

Alternatively a flash thumb drive is a good thing to backup to, but if for example your laptop gets stolen then this might too.

magoogy

i think i will have to decide again then - the acer is definitely out - i asked her last night to let me know exactly what she does want to do on it and what specs she requires - she said it is only to use in her bedroom - she wont be taking it to 6th form (not uni yet) with her as they have their own there but cannot bring them home, hence, this is just so she can do her work at home quietly in her bedroom without having to fight over the pc downstairs - there are 4 of us who use it so she cannot always go on it - she wants to be able to do everything on it she does on the pc.

Thanks for all your tips - i think dell will be the best option at the moment now....

xueta

College purchasing programmes will often also offer laptops at 'below-retail' price to its students, but these are still poor value compared to other internet offers.

On the other hand, free software from college IT departments may be worth exploring! It's little known, but many unis offer free Norton Anti-Virus and MS Office to registered staff and students on a 'college-licence'. Contact your IT department to see if it's offered. This could potentially save over £125 on setting up a new system!

Savvy_Sue

pavlovs_dog wrote:

good point there sue!

btw, whats happened to your old sig? it always used to make me giggle!

Ah well, I read the 'new rules' and it said not to have long sigs as they can make reading posts difficult. Plus it's my most commonly used phrase these days, especially at home, when people fail to do what I asked them to do, or say they can't do what I asked them to do etc etc etc.

Back on topic, for a machine being used mainly at home - ie you don't require the portability of a laptop that often - check it's easy to use, keyboard not too cramped etc. My DH often carts a 'full-size' keyboard round with him for marathon typing sessions because he doesn't particularly like the one on his laptop. And he plugs a mouse in as well because it's more convenient than the trackball thingy. I know people get used to it, but as he's swapping from one to the other it's easier for him to do that.

But I think the main disadvantage of a laptop from the user's point of view is that you can't get the screen high enough and far enough away to maintain good posture ...

pavlovs_dog

further to my previous post about tchibo's laptop, here are the specs

The "Smart Buy" Laptop is packed with great features:

Crisp 15" XGA Display
Powerful 1.3 GHz Intel Celeron M320
processor
40 GB hard drive
256 MB DDR-RAM
Integrated VIA UniChrome graphics card
with 64 MB shared memory
Built-in modem and network card (56 K
V.90 modem; 10/100 Mbit/s Fast Ethernet
LAN Port)
Wireless LAN 802.11g/b at up to 54 Mbit/s
4 USB 2.0 ports
Audio out
VGA out
Microphone in


There's also a great software bundle included:


Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition SP2: pre-installed plus recovery CD
Microsoft® Works® 8.0 (OEM version): word processing, spreadsheets, database,
calendar, address book, etc.
Power DVD 6 (OEM version)
Nero Burning ROM 6 (OEM version): program for copying CDs/DVDs without
copy protection
Nero Recode 2-SE: pre-installed plus recovery CD for easily copying and
compressing DVDs
eTrust AntiVirus (trial version): pre-installed, incl. free Internet updates for 90 days



The Laptop also comes with these accessories:


External USB DVD-ROM drive with a CD writer
External mains adapter (VDE/GS-certified)
High-performance Li-Ion rechargeable battery



All this for £ 399!


the specs were emailed to me in tchibos weekly newsletter. please note that the item WONT be available until tomorrow, and as with the best of tchibo products, there will be limited supply

flossy_splodge

Hope the laptop is upgradable as that amount of RAM (256) is extremely small for todays applications. Also I would want a DVD write drive NOT a CD write drive - CD-RW's are already more difficult to find especially at a reasonable price or in quantities of more than 1. Chip speed is low too but if its just for typing a few letters it is of course absolutely fine.

jr666

256mb of ram should be quite enough for most things. cd-rw's are everywhere?? you can get packs of 10 for £5 if you look. Chip speeds are not the only indication of a computers speed; macs for example run on chips of about 1,8Ghz but are way faster and better than a dell running a 3GHz processor. go for a mac