<p>Im gonna need a laptop for college next year. The Hewitt Packard ones are really cheap and ugly...(we use them in my high school)</p>
<p>My dad thinks that they come with most of the applications we will use in college...my guess is that they only come if u get one from the college (if they provide computers)</p>
<p>I guess we're looking for a cheap computer...under 500 or something or around there...</p>
<p>what are your imputs?</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>The newer HP's aren't that ugly....</p>
<p>What applications are you thinking of? Office? You can get a legit copy for around $70 from MS through their student program. Can't think of other stuff you'd need unless it's major related like Matlab, LabVIEW, Maple, Mathematica, etc. Those kinds of programs can run from $20 to $100 a pop for student versions. </p>
<p>Cheap and nice? You'll need to define your needs in more detail. How nice? In what way(s)? More RAM? More processor speed? Bigger HDD? A discrete GPU? Big, bright screen? Really portable? Long battery life? Comfortable keyboard?</p>