[Chad]

Buying A Computer For University

By CHAD FULLERTON, MACINSIDERS

Following my article on technology tips at McMaster, which gave an overview of the technology at McMaster with regards to Wireless internet, Printing, Computer Lab access, etc. I've seen a lot of people wondering about what type of computer to buy. Laptop or Desktop? PC or Mac? I'll try and run through the basics...

When September comes around you will want to have a computer of your own. Having your own personal computer (whether it be a laptop or desktop computer) will help you to type up notes for class, have a private space to type up essays or lab reports, and give you a machine to do research on without worrying about having to save your files on a USB stick or having to leave early because the place you're in is closing (ie. the library closing at Midnight or the computer labs closing in the evening). If you have a laptop or desktop, you can stay up to the wee hours of the morning typing up a report without any pressure.

That said... do you buy a LAPTOP or a DESKTOP? The question is what do you expect to do with your computer?

YOU WILL WANT A LAPTOP IF:

• You want to take notes in class
• You want something portable to take around, for example if you want to do group work outside of your room in the library or at an off-campus location
• If you want to study or do research in the library or in a quiet place that is outside of your residence or home
• If you want the ability to check your email quickly while on the go in-between classes without using a public computer
• If you expect to be traveling between campus and home (ie. going home each weekend to see the parents... and having a laptop to take with you so you can work from home or from school)

DISADVANTAGES OF A LAPTOP:

• Smaller screen to work on
• Battery life is really important, if you buy a cheaper laptop chances are the battery won't last long and you will be stuck without a way to take notes if it dies mid-way through a long lecture. Remember... you CAN'T RELY ON THERE BEING A POWER SOCKET NEARBY WHILE IN LECTURES! Most lecture halls don't have power sockets unless you sit in a seat close to the wall and arrive early to claim that seat!
• If you have the choice, purchase an extra battery pack for your laptop. This can be used when the battery naturally stops holding a charge after using it for a while, you can then start using the new battery pack. Or, you can also buy a second battery back to swap out between classes. You can also sometimes buy extended batteries (they stick out the bottom of the laptop) and last longer. Average battery life of a laptop is 3-5 hours... some higher performance laptops and Apple MacBooks can last 7-8, but keep in mind that this is if you're not using them for multi-tasking a lot. When you're in a lecture, you'll be using your laptop most likely for taking notes (word processing), while on the Internet on Facebook (wifi, multiple tabs open, high memory usage), and will probably have the screen on high brightness to avoid eye strain (high brightness = battery drain). So make SURE to buy a laptop with an extended battery or long lasting battery life!

YOU WILL WANT A DESKTOP IF:

• You want to have a larger screen to work on
• You plan on writing up your notes by hand
• Expect to play games (while you can do this on a powerful laptop, the 'desktop replacement' laptops that are super powerful are usually very heavy and bulky.. not recommended to carry around each day!)
• You are in the multimedia program, expect to do video editing, or an engineering or computer-related course.
• You want to keep things on the cheaper side, as Desktop PC's are less expensive than laptops... this may come as a surprise to come but it's usually overlooked. A desktop PC with equivalent power as a laptop can usually be found for half the price of a laptop! Also, if you're deciding to go Apple... the iMac Desktop computer is CHEAPER than a MacBook Pro. You get a much larger screen for a better price!

YOU WILL WANT BOTH A LAPTOP AND A PC IF:

• You want to type up notes in class
• You want a large screen to work on from home or residence
• You want portability but also a powerful machine
• You have lots of money - or a birthday coming up
• NOTE: If you choose this option you're best spending more money on a powerful desktop computer, and spending less money on the laptop because you only need the laptop for Internet and typing notes while in class, and then you can go back to your house or rez and continue working on them on your more powerful machine.

SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT AND TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION:

• All libraries on campus have computers that are yours to use... DOZENS OF THEM. They have PC's and they also have iMacs. You can also BORROW laptops from the library, sign them out just like you would a book. So if you're really on a budget, you DONT NEED to buy a computer you could take written notes in class, then go to the library to type them up, or you can borrow out a laptop to type notes in class and email them to yourself, etc.
• If you do need a powerful machine for courses like Multimedia, Engineering, etc. you will have COMPUTER LABS that you can use during the day for using powerful software that needs more computer power.

SYNCING FILES

• If you have more than one computer (a laptop and desktop), and want to be able to work on the SAME FILES between those computers without having to transfer the file over a USB key all the time back and forth... then you'll want to look into CLOUD STORAGE services that SYNC files. There are many out there, but I highly recommend DROPBOX.
• http://www.dropbox.com
• Dropbox gives you 2GB free to use to store your files, and works on both PC and Mac. It shows up like a second harddrive or USB key... but it's completely virtual. You can put files into it, folders, organize your course notes, etc. And then automatically it will sync the files between the computers you install the software on. So if you have it on your desktop and your laptop, and you are in a class typing up notes and save the file... then you go back to your house and turn on your desktop computer... right away the files will instantly sync so the new file you made on your laptop now shows on your desktop and can be edited.

WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS AND WHERE SHOULD I BUY FROM?

When buying a computer you have the choice between a PC or an APPLE/MAC computer. Both have advantages and disadvantages in both software, flexibility, and price.

If buying a PC, for desktops I recommend checking out systems at Dell, MDG, or Wintronic. Generally they are more affordable bang for your buck, and can be customized. If you want to do some window shopping, you can always take a look at Futureshop/Bestbuy, but keep in mind you don't want to fall into the trap of buying their cheap laptop brands that they usually have on sale or as door crashers during big events (ie. Acer, Gateway, etc). As mentioned earlier, buy quality laptop brands that have longer lasting batteries! Brands like ASUS, Sony, and Toshiba (at the big box stores).

What to watch out for in PC's: Celeron Processors (slow performance).

If you're looking to buy a Mac/Apple, I highly suggest either the iMac (which is their desktop computer) or a MacBook Pro (affordable, fully-loaded laptop). There's also the MacBook Air which is lighter and costs less, but also has less performance.

While Mac may be slightly more expensive, the operating system (Mac OS) is very easy to learn and use for beginners, and it is a great system for staying organized at university (with their built in iLife suite of applications). Usually Apple's website also has educational discounts for students, so make sure to buy online from the Educational/Student store rather than the regular store. As I said earlier, Mac's come with iLife Suite which is in itself worth hundreds of dollars in fantastic software that comes pre-loaded on the laptop or desktop you buy. It includes software such as Garageband (audio editing), iMovie (video editor), iPhoto and Photobooth (photo management), iDVD (for creating fancy DVDs you can use for school projects, etc). You can also run full Microsoft Office on Macs (Word, Powerpoint, etc) or you can buy the Mac versions which are similar and do open Word docs, called iOffice ("Pages" which is similar to MS Word, and "Keynote" which is Mac's version of powerpoint).