just wondering what input you guys might have on this topic. she's no tech wizard and will probably only use it for internet, word docs, and itunes. it doesn't need to be a powerhouse, just something with great battery life and wireless internet. i have a few in mind, but maybe you guys can shed some light on this for me. thanks in advance

 

whats the price range

 

if the range is 1 g. Macbook all the way.

Can use both windows and mac osx.

College bound = virus prone

Mac = virus free (for now at least, and for the most part....)

I think you still get a free ipod now too.

You also get like 50-100 off using a student discount.

If the range is less, just pick up any $500 notebook.

 

MACBOOK

$1099
$999 with student discount + $179 credit towards a nano. i believe the deal is good until september.

 

Macbook - $1k and all the reasons above, plus it will work with her iPod and will last her four years if need be. You just need to add some aftermarket RAM (1GB should be more than enough), and buy MS Office for Macs - $150 educational price. If she's not tech savvy, Macs are the way to go - they are practically maintenance free.

Oh yeah, if there is a free nano offer, you can keep the nano!

 

This:

Macbook 1GB RAM (or more).
Get Office 2004 for OS X.

Make sure you get student discounts for the above.
Wireless is included.

$1049, $1199, $1399 are the three choices w/ edu pricing (plus cost of Office & RAM upgrade)

Some universities have site licenses for Office and special pricing. I got mine (Office X) for $25 from my University when I was working on my MS degree. Later, I scored Office 2004 for $20 via a similar program at my company.

 

hmmm 1k seems pretty steep. i'll have to look into it. when i said she wasn't a tech wizard i meant she wasn't going to be photochoping or power using. she knows her way around windows for the most part. i was hoping to see some notebooks priced from 500-700 with some long battery life.

 

When I read the thread title, I thought Trapper Keeper! I guess that kind of dates me.

 

in that case DELL/HP etc. have models in the $479 range albeit they look like $479 machines.

 

And perform like $479 machines plus will require 10X the maintenance to keep it running.

She'll need to become a techy to keep it working right and that's not even counting the 100s of viruses she'll pick up which will require her to wipe her hard drive and start over how many times a semester?

No, the Macbook is much cheaper!!!!!!