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August 11, 2006
Dear CNET members,
Happy Friday! This week's question from Collin of Wisconsin is about what laptop to purchase for college, and it couldn't come at a better time as many people are heading back to school and finding themselves in the same predicament. The most important thing to remember is to not make a hasty purchasing decision. You'll need one that's right for you and that will last through a few years of college. As I can attest, during my college years, a lot of things changed for me, and your computer needs and usage will also change. So my advice to you is to plan for the unexpected and get a laptop that will be flexible enough to accommodate changes throughout your college years. Our members came through in a big way this week, offering a lot of advice for those of you like Collin--ranging from what to look for in a laptop to advice on discounts through your college. So read up and digest it all, and hopefully you'll be able to make a sound purchasing decision. To get you going, I have not one, but three winning answers this week by Dana, Barry, and Wayne. But there are really no right or wrong answers here, only great advice, so give all our members' recommendations a read. Everyone who participated deserves a pat on the back! Good luck, Collin and all the students out there. Study hard and party hard!
Quick announcement, folks! You know your opinion is extremely valuable to us, right? Well, if any of you live in the San Francisco Bay Area and would like to be a candidate to participate in a CNET research study at our San Francisco offices on August 18, 2006, please fill out this quick CNET survey. It's unique and great opportunity for you to tell us what you think! Thank you!
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Member Question of the Week
Hey CNET, I'm going off to college in a month, and I want to use some graduation money to buy a laptop. I don't know where to start, and time is running out! I need a system that does word processing, spreadsheets and so on and lets me do quick Web browsing. Games and MP3 storage would be a nice bonus. I'm most concerned about portability, weight, and battery life since I will probably take it to classes. What is my best choice?
Submitted by:
Collin C. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Answer by Dana:
Wow! This question should yield a lot of controversy as well as a large variety of answers. It's kind of like asking what is the best automobile for driving to work each day, has the best gas mileage, the longest driving range between fill-ups, holds the most passengers, and might be able to race in the Daytona 500? If there were such a car, there would be only one model on the market, and everyone would buy it. No computer can meet the needs of every user, and everyone has their personal favorite as well as a personal worst...
Submitted by:
Dana H. of Wayland, Massachusetts
Answer by Barry:
Collin, almost any laptop that you buy will meet your minimum needs. However, I can make some recommendations. The laptop market is undergoing dramatic changes right at this very moment. My answer to you today is different in some regards than the answer I would have given to the same question just three weeks ago. What appears to be happening right now is that laptop vendors and retailers are clearing the decks for the introduction of laptops using the Intel Core 2 Duo processor, which was previously known by code-names Conroe and...
Submitted by:
Barry W. of North Canton, Ohio
Answer by Wayne:
Hi, Collin, you made no mention of your college major, and that would affect the computer you purchase. When I bought a laptop for my son to take to college, he needed a pretty powerful machine since he was a computer engineering major. If you are entering the humanities, you wouldn't need a graphics card with a lot of RAM. Your first step should be to talk to your school. Perhaps your adviser could help, if you've been assigned one already. If not, call the school IT...
Submitted by:
Wayne F.
For
Dana's, Barry's, and Wayne's
efforts, we're sending them a choice of any
CNET Learning CD.
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Check out next week's question:
I want to hook up a wireless camera to view my backyard when the kids are at play there. I have cable TV, cable Internet service, and a wireless router linking two PCs in my house. How would I hook up a wireless camera that I could view either through my TVs or my home PCs? In addition, if my family and I were away from home, would it be possible for me to remotely access and monitor my house using that same wireless camera from anywhere as long as I have Internet access? I appreciate any help.
--Submitted by:
Tom P. of Saint
Augustine, Florida
If you have the answer,
e-mail us at messageboards@cnet.com.
If we choose your response, you'll get a
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Simple question, simple answer
Help your fellow members
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Click here to see Dana's full answer
