<p>No, I never said that. I said I have an Inspiron. I preferred an Inspiron over an XPS because of battery life (for when you want to go to the library with your own computer.) But Latitude vs Inspiron... would be mainly based on use and how heavy your baby needs to be. (Inspirons tend to be more powerful but heavier at the same time than Latitudes.)</p>
<p>I have a Dell Inspiron and I've been surprised with how great it is; no problems for 8 months</p>
<p>My opinion about PCs/laptops at Emory (or college in general) is that it begins with what your anticipated use will be. If you are an applied math, bioengineering or science major who will have to have added horsepower in your laptop, then factor that into your laptop selection. Very often, this translates into no more than adding to your RAM (say, 2 GB of RAM vs. 1 GB). </p>
<p>There is no laptop currently being sold in today's market that will not be sufficient for most all functions a typical Emory student will need it for. You can easily spend over $2,000 or spend as little as $400-500, and I'm positive that the product you buy will get the job done for most all students who do not have the need for the added capability of crunching extreme amounts of data. My suggestion is that if you plan to spend MORE, first identify why you need the added technical capability -- because you may not. If you have money to burn, the decision is easier because, if money is not a consideration, buy whatever you want. If money is a consideration, almost any laptop you buy today will easily take you through the next 2 years, and likely upwards of all 4 years at Emory.</p>
<p>Regarding technical support at Emory, prior to purchasing a new laptop for my daughter, I contacted Emroy's IT Division (<a href="http://www.it.emory.edu%5B/url%5D">www.it.emory.edu</a>) (404-727-7777) and asked them about supportability. I'm convinced that they are probably better prepared to support Windows-based PCs than Mac OS-based PCs; however, they have resources on staff that can provide help for either. Thus, pick the laptop that you like the most, knowing that support is available by Emory ITD. On other issues of service, I opted to go with a good service agreement that would provide immediate on-site service. I pay more for this than with other service agreement options, but it's worth it to me because I'm thousands of miles from my daughter, and I want her to be able to use her laptop without significant disruptions due to her machine being serviced (or having her to pack up her PC and send it to the vendor).</p>
<p>Eventually, last summer, we settled on the Dell Latitude 620A. We could have bought an Inspiron, but the Latitude has the benefit of additional printer interfaces as well as a few other features that might come in handy. We bought this model through the Emory Bookstore, who did all the significant legwork. I did research on the purchase and came to the conclusion that their bundled laptop/service package (the most robust service agreement available) was a good deal. The Dell Latitude has presented no problems (and neither has any Dell product I've bought, including my own Inspiron at home and the many Dell PCs my company has purchased). </p>
<p>In addition, we also bought the latest Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint), and it was a great deal -- I forget, but I think it was $99 or maybe even $79 -- also through the Emory Bookstore.</p>