<p>We'll be getting our son a shiny new laptop to take off to Denison next year. Is there any reason to go or not to go with the deal they have set up with Dell? Any thoughts/experiences/advice?</p>
<p>How does one find out about the DU "deal"?</p>
<p>judging by their website, i think it's up to 12% discount</p>
<p>I don't know anything about the Denison deal with Dell but before you buy make sure to google 'Dell Coupons' and see if you can get a better deal. The last 2 Dells we purchased we have found coupons for 30% off. (you enter the coupon code when you purchase from Dell and it replaces any discounts on the site if it is a better deal - which it usually does).</p>
<p>I haven't looked into the Denison deal yet, but I'm personally anti-Dell because of the bad experiences I've had with them. I'll be getting a MacBook most likely.</p>
<p>Whistle Pig: I think there's a red sheet in our binders that gives computer advice and a link to the Denison deal info.</p>
<p>See the "Can I buy a computer through the school. . ." here: Prospective</a> Student FAQs - Denison University It looks like the MacBooks are $100 cheaper than retail. Dell has a $1497 Latitude D630 for $1073.</p>
<p>FWIW -- Also have had bad Dell customer service experiences (even with the top plan offered), as S1 and S2 have had them all through high school (6 yrs!). S1 got a mac for college and still loves it 2 yrs later. Tells us that most of his friends who arrived with non-Macs have switched or want to switch over. Gave S2 a mac for Christmas to bring to DU. He loves it. Better interfacing generally, esp in student world filled with itunes, etc. Think the Mac v. PC commercials, and that's pretty much how they feel about it. </p>
<p>Me I still use the Dell desktop, but then I'm just a dino-mom....</p>
<p>I'll ditto Dell's lousy service and chronic need for it. One laptop from them gave me a belly full. I think we're gonna switch to the Mac with D1 @ DU.</p>
<p>GO BIG RED! GO BIG MAC!!</p>
<p>No, forget that latter "GO!" :confused The frosh 15 won't need any caloried encouragement.</p>
<p>I have to report that if you get the full Dell service contract, they will fix or replace ANYTHING and send someone to do it within a day. I got my daughter a Latitude 3 years ago and she has trashed it or had it trashed several times and Dell had it fixed immediately. Once a large dog (must have been the size of a velociraptor) attacked it. Bite marks on the screen which was shattered and many keys gone. Another time after she spilled an unnamed liquid on it and dropped it, they replaced virtually the entire machine. No hassles no complaints, no stress. And the next day. They don't, unlike Apple, exclude accidental damage.</p>
<p>Mind you, it requires the full 3 year plan (which they just told me I can extend), but for a college student, I think it is worth every penny.</p>
<p>Wow MHC, I'm going to get you guys to call for me next time I need Dell service! Maybe things are different on college campuses? If so, very glad to hear it.</p>
<p>I'm a survivor of "Dell Hell." We were "oh for double digits" with the same 3 yr, all bells and whistles, premium $ "on-site the next day" plan for our two laptops. When we called customer service, we invariably got a rep who said, "we'll ship you something or other" -- even the times the entire screen was smashed and dislocated from the machine and when the keyboard simply stopped working altogether. (Took 10 days for the guy to bring the new screen!) I was never once offered "next day service" although the rep claimed to be looking at my account and suddenly "saw that" warranty plan when I pointed it out. Although promised such service on several occasions, never once did the promised part/service arrive in less than 4 days. On several occasions, they insisted on sending parts that predictably did not solve the problem, then we had to wait for service, which took at least 2 days to arrive.</p>
<p>And the questionable billing practices added to our purgatory. Suffice it to say that with a law degree, 25 yrs of advocacy experience, a certain amount of stubborness on principle, and 8 months (that's right!) of stonewalling and/or unfulfilled promises by Dell reps to correct the account, I finally reached a real human being in the US who understood that you cannot bill late fees on a fully paid on time account, much less charge more late fees for not paying the late fees you agreed had been mistakenly charged and promised to remove (no less than 5 times), then slap even more late fees and interest on those "should have been removed but were not" late fees. Said human being (an independent collections agent, bless her heart) took one look at the account history, apologized profusely, told me we "were not the only ones," and resolved the problem with no further effort on our part. Can you say "class action"? ;)</p>
<p>mhc48,</p>
<p>Not in my experience. </p>
<p>We paid for next day onsite service. Instead they had us send it to a depot, kept it for weeks, and finally shipped back a bare chassis missing all the parts and then blamed it on us. See the thread I started: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/856165-dell-support-not-what-used-5.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/856165-dell-support-not-what-used-5.html</a></p>
<p>The worst is that my D is at Oxford, UK with a worthless hunk of dell junk that we paid a fortune for, including hundreds extra for complete care, only to be blamed for stealing the parts.</p>
<p>Both of my sons, #1 at Carleton and #2 at DU reccommend that students think about putting their money into a netbook, which can be had for as little as $250 or so. This can easily go to class for notetaking and is wonderful for all kinds of travel. It fits easily almost anywhere. These guys are pretty into their gaming and music so they also have a desktop in their room but, even combining these 2 options, a student who isn’t super into powerful gaming can have both a reasonable desktop plus the netbook for about the same pricing as a full size laptop that would be comparable to the desktop.<br>
Also, there really is not a terrific advantage to buying your “college computer” this far ahead of the game. Deals can be had later on as well. Also, windows 7, if you go that way, will have had time to work the bugs out. Really, I’d would encourage the netbook idea and have your student wait on the “other computer” to see what they might want when they get to campus.
(Btw…I’m a college library director at a small cc. The netbook will serve their academic purposes quite sufficiently for starters.)</p>
<p>Wow, this is a blast from the past. Allow one anecdotal, fast-forwarded look …</p>
<p>2 years later …</p>
<p>Having been lifelong PC users and owners, following Esquette’s counsel (and at 2 cents/hour!), our daughter’s best bud, and a whole bunch of others that seemed increasingly persuasive, my daughter jumped in and pushed us to get the Mac. And now, almost 2 years after the plunge, knock on wood, she has had not one single “burp” on the MAC and has sworn off PC’s for life, with preference for her Apple. And she uses it constantly and everywhere she goes.</p>
<p>And like newmassdad, we’ve had one and only one Dell, w/ bell-and-whistle service contracts that have been nothing short of misery. No more for us. Conversely, I can say, a heavy user pal swears by them. So I’m not sure which of our cases is anomaly.</p>
<p>But I can say for certain …our future purchases will be to pay a little more for a whole lot less grief. Apple.</p>
<p>(3 boys + 1 girl) x 4 macbooks x 8 college yrs (almost) = 0 problems not covered by full replacement warranty handled by English speaking human being, often at the apple store = 1 impressed/grateful parent. </p>
<p>ok folks-- here’s our latest love from apple – appletv – amazing way to get all your itunes stuff onto your tv – can order “on demand” movies tv shows from itunes for same price as video stores/netflix – plus it streams all your photos from your computer so they are displayed on the big screen 
of course all your itunes music plays thru tv, but also includes access to youtube (yes, on your tv!) and internet radio, incl WDUB (the doobie from DU)! don’t need to have an apple computer, can use your pc. we already have one at home and 2 on college campuses where they have been extremely popular! around $250 if you add on the warranty or cables, otherwise less. oh and it’s about 8 inches square and two inches high. we are huge fans.</p>