<p>what do you think would be most suitable for college life - a laptop or desktop? Secondly, what brand - dell, alienware, ibm...etc.?</p>
<p>I'd say a laptop, but this is coming from a high school senior. I think the brand is personal preference.</p>
<p>Apple Powerbook or Dell laptop. I'd go with a laptop, but then again I'm bringing a laptop and my desktop, so whatever.</p>
<p>I'd agree with newt ~ apple powerbook or dell laptop is probably the best way to go. Wait until you've registered at your college/university before you buy one, though - Apple and Dell tend to offer significant discounts to currently-affiliated students and faculty.</p>
<p>If you like Macs, get the powerbook b/c they're generally faster/etc. than the iBooks... if you like PCs, I generally go w/Dells b/c I've had really good experience with their customer service and repair departments (and I <em>think</em> that Dells might be the only PCs that yale student computing assistants are specifically trained to support), but certain schools have certain brands that they recommend over others, so check that out once you're sure where you're going.</p>
<p>Laptops are definitely better than desktops for college students - it's <em>really</em> nice to be able to take your computer to the library with you or out into your common room or whatever. Just make sure that you get one with plenty of memory and disk space... it'll be a bit more expensive, but it's worth it. If you hate using laptop screens b/c they're so small (and if you have the money), you might want to consider doing what one of my friends did - get a separate monitor and/or keyboard that you can leave permanently in your dorm room. That's expensive, though, and it's only a personal preference thing (it's really not necessary at all).</p>
<p>Dells though break quite easily, and their service dept has gone down hill since they went to India or somewhere for their call center.</p>
<p>How often do people come home during the school year, and do a lot of people do work at home? If people really don't do work at home, I'd bring the computer (desktop) that I have right now and buy a laptop so I have both to use at school. I really hate to type onto the laptops b/c it's so uncomfortable, since the edge doesn't taper down. But would not having a computer at home be inconvenient?</p>