<p>If you haven’t bought yet you may want to time your purchase to save sales tax if possible.</p>
<p>Alabama has a sales tax free weekend the weekend after this coming one (why couldn’t it be the next one when we are moving in?)</p>
<p>[ADOR</a> - Sales Tax Holiday](<a href=“http://revenue.alabama.gov/salestax/SalesTaxHol.htm]ADOR”>http://revenue.alabama.gov/salestax/SalesTaxHol.htm)</p>
<p>List/schedule of other states </p>
<p>[Sales</a> Tax Holidays](<a href=“http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/rate/sales_holiday.html]Sales”>http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/rate/sales_holiday.html)</p>
<p>We purchased a HP for my son about a month ago - it’s bundle was a good deal through Costco. Plus, we have an HP laptop at home and have had no issues. Our main thing was that we purchase it early enough that it was up and running for 4-6 weeks before he left for UA. So he has been using it exclusively since early July. </p>
<p>We had major issues with my older son’s Dell laptop that started surfacing about 1 1/2 weeks after he got it - right when he first hit campus as a freshman. He was back and forth to Best Buy many, many times freshman year and it was out of commission a few weeks. A couple of new hard drives and 15 months later we scraped it and bought him a cheap Asus. Never had a problem after that…</p>
<p>I do agree with buying the most powerful one that fits your budget - hopefully they will use it all 4 years and what is fast now in the tech world will not be 4 years from now… </p>
<p>Son liked 17" screens but finds them too heavy and bulky to carry around - so went with the 15" screen. Not sure how much he will be carrying it around but he thought he might since he doesn’t have a tablet.</p>
<p>I have a macbook air and did have some issues with getting the programs for some classes to run on it- I am not a nursing major, but the basic computer science class (can’t remember the number) which is required for a lot of majors uses a program that ended up not working at all with my mac, and I had to switch to using my PC for just that class. Other than that though, I would definitely recommend the air- it is so much smaller and lighter for carrying to class compared to my regular PC laptop (the dell NMF one). Maybe there is a PC equivalent of the air that would be small in size but wouldn’t have any compatibility issues?</p>
<p>My son’s new HP Pavilion arrived today. We got it loaded, and for a lot less than the Mac. he is very excited about it.</p>
<p>BamaPearl Do you mean CS 102? Are saying a mac isn’t compatible with that class? If so, then what does one do if they only have a mac?</p>
<p>D1 completed CS102 this year and D2 completed it two weeks ago. Both have Macbook Pro and neither had any problems with compatibility.:)</p>
<p>Thank you bamagirls!</p>
<p>Whatever laptop you get, take time to make the recovery disks. Your computer should remind you with a pop up when you start it. These disks are invaluable if your hard drive goes bad.</p>
<p>D will be starting this fall and will be majoring in Chemistry / Biology. What is the best laptop for science majors? Also what is the best time to buy the laptop? Easter, Memorial Day, July 4th or any other back to School savings day?</p>
<p>I should have qualified my question - What is the best laptop TODAY ( March 28, 2013 ) for science majors? Since new models are coming out all the time I wanted to get opinions from the well informed.</p>
<p>I think it is an impossible question answer, what is the best? Because there seems to be a lot of inconsistencies within a manufactures product line. Heck I had an HP and had nothing but problems with it, Hubby got an HP and loves it. So I bought a Sony which is fantastic, when D’s apple was not compatible with and online class we bought her a Sony…it is horrible. </p>
<p>I would check with the dept head and see if they have any specific suggestions, then research. My Hubby, who is an engineer tries to buy the latest computer models out so they are not outdated off the shelf.</p>
<p>I’ve spent > 20 years working in IT.</p>
<p>It used to be there were significant differences between MACs and PCs, but not so much anymore. With each new generation of machines, they get closer and closer to each other. It used to be MACs were way ahead on graphics and sound and that’s why they were used for graphics arts, but PCs have made huge advances. MACs have software to emulate PCs, so you can run PC software on them. It really just boils down to personal preference.</p>
<p>My personal preference is saving money, so MACs were never a big consideration for us. PCs are just so much more cost effective. I read lots of reviews and Lenovo was getting some really good reviews, so I got my son a Lenovo off their outlet site and paid < $600. He’s in engineering and is currently running Autocad on it with no trouble. You don’t need a top of the line system for most programs out there. Gamers will want high performance systems for the fraction of a second improvement it gives them, but for most uses the difference in response time of new systems is so insignifcant it won’t be noticeable.</p>
<p>jrcsmom
What specs did you purchase/would you reommend for engineering students?</p>
<p>Is it better to buy a lighter laptop with a smaller screen and a monitor to go with it or buy a laptop with a bigger ( 15.6" or more ) screen? How much minimum RAM and disk space are generally recommended?</p>
<p>Unless things have changed, students rarely take laptops to class…if that’s why you’re asking that question. Others can comment if things have changed. </p>
<p>Some may take iPads or tablets to class with Bluetooth keyboard…not sure.</p>
<p>My kids have generally used midsized laptops…not the huge screens, but not the small ones either. </p>
<p>As for RAM and other sizes/speeds…I’m not sure about those things…seems like most laptop offerings these days are generous. I don’t know if you can go wrong in those areas.</p>
<p>I saw that Google Chrome laptop the other day…sleek, compact and very inexpensive. A nice option for those who might want to carry a second laptop around.</p>
<p>Personally, I like the touchscreen laptops. I just bought one last week because I have gotten so used to touching my iPad screen that I didn’t like giving that up.</p>
<p>My S is one of those who takes a tablet to class to take notes, then downloads to 17" laptop (i.e. large one) afterwards. He says some professors do not allow any electronic devices in some classes now - the texting and checking emails and surfing was getting so rampant and blatant, so the only way to control it (apparently) is to disallow any device during class. I agree - it must be very difficult to lecture and connect with students if they are staring at a cell phone and “taking notes” with their thumbs on said device! I was subbing in an Alg class at HS a few weeks ago, giving a test, and several kids had cell phones out on their desks (which are verbotten in our HS), presumably because they did not have calculators…yeah, right…good luck doing scientific notation on a cell phone…I made them put them away, and magically the calculators somehow started to be found as I passed out the test.</p>
<p>I also have 20+ years in IT, and I frequently made fun of Macs, especially in the late 90s because they were so pathetic.</p>
<p>Today, I am a believer. They are easily the best machines on the market. The build quality is top notch and with so much of our needs today being based in web-based applications, there really is no longer a divide. The only issue might be some specialized engineering apps like Autocad or Solidworks. For those, just put windows on it in a virtual machine or use Apple’s boot camp utility.</p>
<p>If you want a quality machine that will last and not give you the typical windows headaches with spyware, pop-ups, and viruses it really is a no-brainier to me.</p>
<p>In particular, the MacBook Air is a perfect choice for a student. Light and powerful.</p>
<p>Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD</p>
<p>S is entering freshman PolySci/History. We’re thinking entry-level macbook pro, plus <em>maybe</em> a mini iPad if the right back-to-school special comes along. Also in consideration is a Macbook Air, but then we will probably send him without the tablet or mini.</p>
<p>He is planning to take his el cheapo 22" monitor to use on his desk for larger projects and streaming video, but it’s already bought and paid for.</p>
<p>I’ve told said son that I’ll buy the extended warranty, but he’s responsible to get it to the shop. And he’s responsible for repairs that are required due to abuse or misuse.</p>
<p>Applecare is Apple’s extended warranty, and while not normally a fan of any sort of extended warranty, I buy it on every Apple device I buy. The battery on my wife’s 17 Macbook Pro recently gave up the ghost, and with it being sealed, it is not user-replaceable. The cost of this replacement alone justified the extension at the time of purchase.</p>
<p>I am very, very careful with my equipment, so I am not sure how Applecare extends to accidental damage incidents though.</p>
<p>I think if you can only afford one device, get the Air. If you have the luxury of two, the combination of a Macbook Pro and an iPad is almost unbeatable. There are accessories for an iPad (such as keyboards) that make it more laptop-like, but those should been seen as a convenience, and it would be folly (in my opinion) to attempt to rely on an iPad as a laptop replacement. It can be done, but the limitations are pretty severe.</p>
<p>Another feature of the Mac ecosystem that should never be underestimated is the Time Machine functionality for automatic backups. This can be achieved in a few different ways, but for easily distracted college students, nothing beats the “set it and forget it” capability of Time Machine/Time Capsule setups. Trust me when I tell you that you don’t want a frantic call when a project or paper is lost due to drive failure, etc. There are also online backup services such as Crashplan.com that are highly recommended.</p>
<p>Using an external monitor and keyboard/mouse with a laptop is also a very good idea. It will get you most of the benefits of a desktop machine. Consider a small Battery Backup/UPS device that looks like a surge protector and has a battery inside that will prevent data loss due to a power failure or transient. It will also extend the life of your equipment considerably.</p>