<p>the d620 latitude by dell looks like the best option to me.</p>
<p>Don't be too biased by students recommending Apples since that's been the market of focus by Apple for a long time and many are drawn to its sleek looks (which is just packaging but Apple does do a very good job of making them look good). Over 90% of the business world uses PCs for desktops/laptops rather than Apples or Unix-based systems. They do this based on sound business reasons that include productivity and value. In reality, either the Apple or the PC can probably do anything you're likely to want to do with a computer but the PC can run more business applications (largely Microsoft) and may be able to run more specialized apps like Microsoft VisualDev if you're into programming. The newer Apples can do this as well since they're now Intel based and can be dual-booted but it'll cost you more to actually use it since you'd have to buy Windows and additional disk capacity in addition.</p>
<p>Regarding hard drives, few people use external hard drives with their laptops. You can order very large hard drives nowadays. I just purchased a Dell 1505 laptop with a 100G drive for my daughter. They also have a 120G available but I doubt she'll ever come close to using much of the 100G.</p>
<p>I suggest starting at the bookstore and seeing what deals they have since they sometimes can offer good discounts (Dells are about 12% off the price you can buy it from Dell for, I also heard Apple makes some good deals through colleges as do others). Compare features for the price. Understand that the looks of the computer is less important than its utility (except for some people - okay, especially for students). Remember that the bookstore salesperson (or any saleperson) isn't necessarily an expert and probably is biased in some way.</p>
<p>Apples are usually 10 percent off and you don't even have to do it through the college. If you go to the apple store with your BruinCard, they'll discount it. The dell one you have to go through this 3rd party site that sponsors UCLA. Here's the link:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.kstdata.com/uclappp/index.asp%5B/url%5D">http://www.kstdata.com/uclappp/index.asp</a></p>
<p>ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad, they have laptops with 250gb of space, if that's an issue. Personally, I would go for the much lighter models like the Sony X505.</p>
<p>We purchased the Dell by going through the link on UCLA's store site and it goes straight to Dell: <a href="http://www.dell.com/ucla%5B/url%5D">http://www.dell.com/ucla</a></p>
<p>dragon: That's my point - you can get quite large disk drives with laptops now so there's little to no need for external drives. </p>
<p>If you're going to lug the laptop around a lot, I'd go for the smaller (12"), lighter ones and Sony makes some nice ones (as do others). If, like many people, you'll mostly use the laptop in your room and transport it home on visits, a larger laptop (14"-15") s/b okay and the screen size is more liveable. Some of the very large laptops (17") could become more cumbersome but I suppose movies would look nicer on it. </p>
<p>Make sure you get a laptop cable lock to secure the laptop in the dorm. It's not foolproof but it makes other people's laptops easier to steal than yours.</p>
<p>from experience, how often do most people carry around their laptops away from their dorms?</p>
<p>i am looking at a Toshiba Qosimo G30 AV650, so a 17", 10 pounder would be a decent choice for college??????????</p>
<p>ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad,</p>
<p>You keep harping on business software, but you're ignoring an important factor: These are college freshman.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The newer Apples can do this as well since they're now Intel based and can be dual-booted but it'll cost you more to actually use it since you'd have to buy Windows and additional disk capacity in addition.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Yes, you need to purchase Windows. That can be done OEM, and quite cheaply, however. Also, you don't need additional disk capacity [in addition]. All you need to do is set up a Windows partition with Boot Camp on your existing HD. </p>
<p>
[quote]
They do this based on sound business reasons that include productivity and value.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Productivity for the BUSINESS END. Again, I sincerely doubt that too many 18-year-old college freshmen are going to be concerned with running VisualDev, or any of the biz-end software beyond Office (which is readily available for the Mac.) By the way, there's Visual SlickEdit, which is Mac OS X friendly anyway, much like OpenOffice.org.</p>
<p>I'm not saying that the Mac is for everyone, but I have to admit that I'm far more productive in Mac OS X than I was in any MS OS, starting from DOS 5.0, all the way up to Vista Beta. And I'm not some "noob," either.</p>
<p>I personally don't get the enmity directed at Macs...</p>
<p>
[quote]
If you're going to lug the laptop around a lot, I'd go for the smaller (12"), lighter ones and Sony makes some nice ones (as do others).
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Be careful with the smaller systems, though. Not everyone can handle small keyboards well, and I personally know at least one person who has complained that the cramped conditions have made worse a case of CTS.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I just purchased a Dell 1505 laptop with a 100G drive for my daughter. They also have a 120G available but I doubt she'll ever come close to using much of the 100G.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>100Gs is very easy to fill. Keep in mind that NTFS is going to take up at least 5 gigs or so just to format, then you lost another 2-3 gigs for XP, I think 3-5 for Vista, another gig for a productivity suite, usually around 5-10 gigs of music for the average young person, and then consider the amount of downloading that goes on on college campuses, and 100 gigs is actually fairly small. Consider that most midline desktops today come with far more than that (usually 150-240 or so). I mean, most high-end systems are packing 1 TB today...</p>
<p>
[quote]
Understand that the looks of the computer is less important than its utility (except for some people - okay, especially for students).
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Get off it. Looks count. You think that men buy Ferraris because they can drive 180 mph around their neighborhoods? Besides, all the major manufacturers spend a fair amount on making their systems "look good." I mean, Dell put neon lights in some of their high-end systems. How does that have more utility than sleek lines?</p>
<p>By the way, some good reasons to consider Mac (even if you aren't aware of them?)</p>
<p>No BIOS. EFI is infinitely better.
No NTFS or FAT 32. UFS or HFS+ or HFSX are much better (say good bye to constant defrags!)
Quicksilver
Automater, for creating work-flows
And resource forks</p>
<p>There's much more to the Mac than just that pretty exterior.</p>
<p>I mean, hell...if Mac OS X is so deficient, why is MS trying so hard to emulate it with Vista? ;)</p>
<p>I just replaced my old-ish laptop, which had absolutely no battery and was about 7 lbs. Couldn't take it anywhere. New computer is about 4 lbs and has battery and oh god. Has made finals so much easier (though im an upper-div comm major so i dont have to worry about the math/science thing). Started bringing it to class as soon as I got it and yeah. I ended up taking way more notes and its made it easier to go through them. I also can barely read my own writing (especially when professors speak really quickly and i have to resort to bad short hand) so yeah. Definitely suggest taking the laptop to class if possible.</p>
<p>I can't imagine carrying 10 lbs of computer around campus though. Remember- lots of hills, stairs, people, etc.</p>
<p><strong>allie</strong>,</p>
<p>Dell 700m?</p>
<p>Go ULCAri! keep spreading the truth about apple :) I thought about getting a PC but Apple can run Windows faster than most PCs can, so I dont see any reason to get a PC...</p>
<p>iliketodomath,</p>
<p>I've seen a fair number of benchmarks that put the MacBooks fairly in line with other Wintel machines in terms of Windows performance, gaming performace excluded.</p>
<p>However, I suggest that with further development of Boot Camp, we may see even better performance. Keep in mind that the Mac actually has to run Windows without the (sad) benefit of BIOS.</p>
<p>No, its a Vaio. 15.5 inch screen. super light though.</p>
<p>UCLAri: </p>
<p>I'm just trying to offer a counterpoint to the pro-Mac group. I have no real problem with Macs but I think people should investigate both the Mac and PCs and determine what the best value for them is. Regarding business apps (which includes MS Office), I think it can matter depending on what the person will end up doing with their laptop so it should at least be considered.</p>
<p>Regarding having to get Windows for the dual-boot Mac, I agree that with some student discounts this cost could be a nit but ought to be included in the calculation - especially if purchased without a student discount. </p>
<p>Re the hard drive - I stated a larger one will be needed for dual-boot since it'll end up getting partitioned for each OS thereby reducing the size available to each OS. Since larger and larger drives are available for laptops this issue can be mitigated as well but s/b considered. I referred to a 100G HDD but much larger ones (240G) are also available on some laptops. Depending on what the person will do with their laptop, 100G is a lot of space. I think it makes more sense for most people to get a reasonable sized HDD with their laptop and only go get an external once they determine a real need for it. Most people won't need it.</p>
<p>Regarding looks of the laptop - if the purchaser values this highly then it certainly s/b considered. Most people (including me) will give it at least some consideration. My daughters are more influenced by it than I am. Some people will be highly influenced by it. It really doesn't affect performance though. Apple placed enough value on this attribute that they made a concerted effort to employ some of the best industrial designers to make their products visually appealing and they've done well with this effort.</p>
<p>I've actually been considering getting a tablet pc, since I can switch between writing and typing. Does anyone have experience w/ taking notes on a tablet pc during class??? is it worth it? Or should i just get a regular laptop?</p>
<p>ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad,</p>
<p>
[quote]
I have no real problem with Macs but I think people should investigate both the Mac and PCs and determine what the best value for them is.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>No arguments here, but it usually is more helpful if you're offering completely accurate information. I'm not accusing you of deliberate misconduct, but like most Windows-only users, you seem to be stuck in the paradigm of "Mac and Linux are limited in their software options." It's simply not true. </p>
<p>Go out and look at the amazing options that the open source community is offering, from GIMP to OpenOffice.org, as well as Opera and Firefox, and you'll find that the days of MSOffice or MSAnything being the only option. It's a brave new world out there, and Microsoft themselves have said that they're going to have to change their strategies to deal with it.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Regarding business apps (which includes MS Office), I think it can matter depending on what the person will end up doing with their laptop so it should at least be considered.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Yet you conveniently ignored the very viable Mac OS alternatives to 99% of what's out there for Win XP/NT.</p>
<p>
[quote]
It really doesn't affect performance though.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I find that computer users are, for some odd reason, unable to comprehend the idea of how there are important factors in user enjoyment outside of sheer horsepower. The pride of ownership that goes along with having a decent looking computer is a serious plus. For me, the aesthetics of the system aren't really all that important, but I see it as a PLUS on top of the already great value. Sure, it's only adding value on the margin, but who cares? It's added value.</p>
<p>UCLARi:</p>
<p>I'm not a Windows-only user. I've been using computers since before the IBM-PC, TRS-80, and Apple. These computers have included mainframes, CP/M, many early proprietary micros, as well as Unix. I'm limiting my comments on Apple and just trying to offer some other perspectives (including the comment of software availability - if open source is to be included there's a huge amount available for the PC as well as unix systems) which are valid and correct (I know you disagree so it's not worth debating here). </p>
<p>Hopefully we've both provided enough info in these posts to people so they can make a reasonable decision on their selection. The bottom line is that either option (Apple/PC) will work just fine for these students and they should just evaluate the utility (apps), value (price), reliability, servicability, and to the extent it's important to them, aesthetics.</p>
<p>ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad,</p>
<p>I don't disagree with the greater availability of software for Windows. I just think that it's silly to base a decision on some MS software when reasonable alternatives exist for other systems. </p>
<p>I guess I took you the wrong way, but ever since I "switched," I've had to suffer the silly barrage of "oh, so how is it not having Office, or any good software?"-type of questions. It seems to me that most Windows-only people can't imagine a world where non-Wintel people can actually function.</p>
<p>uh mac has office</p>