Thanks for all the advice! My take away so far: 1. Buy a Mac - all problems solved, but I have no idea how to use it or support it, and probably the most expensive choice. 2. Get a dual boot system - inconvenient, but I can support it for her long distance 3. Netbook vs laptop - I agree the portability is important, but a comfortable keyboard is a necessity. Definitely worth looking into. CNET picked the Eee PC 1000HE as the top netbook....but it is black! (See #4 below). 4. Have her pick a different major.....I am not overly worried as she is smart and has a year or two to explore before she chooses something..;-) She is a whiz at math and science, so maybe she will return from the dark side (her mom was poly sci/journalism major) before she graduates...;-) 4. Lisa picked up on a good point - my daughter is deathly afraid I will get her a "black box" computer for college. I mean a real black box - square corners, matte black. We don't agree on shoes, and we don't agree on the need for a fashionable laptop....so I have to through in that as a requirement as well....no square corners and matte/shiny black finish. Must have color...I suggested spray paint, but didn't get very far.;-) No one mentioned a VM solution - boot Linux and run Windows with some form of vmware for ITunes. Am I looking at yet more expense for high end hardware (lots of RAM and dual core)? I have tried vmware on my P4 2 GHz laptop and it works but a little too slow. Also, the fan sounds like a blender on max, so it kind of defeats the quiet aspect of a laptop. I have also had great experiences with older Dell hardware, but I have heard that their quality is falling. Thanks for all the input - any vmware/other vm solutions on Linux fans out there with recommendations for good laptop hardware? Mark On Tue, May 12, 2009 at 9:33 AM, Eric Cope wrote: > thats a good point. Let your kid buy themselves something so they value it > enough not to close a lid on a pen. > > I bought my own IBM laptop and never closed the lid on a pen because I knew > I counldn't afford to replace it! > > On Tue, May 12, 2009 at 9:27 AM, Charles Jones < > charles.jones@ciscolearning.org> wrote: > >> AppleCare doesn't replace broken LCDs (know from experience). And this >> often happens with students, usually from having a pen laying on the >> keyboard and closing the lid....*crunch* :-) >> >> -Charles >> >> Eric Cope wrote: >> >> Get her an Apple (with AppleCare if you want the 2 years of extended >> warranty). >> Great hardware. Its light, it works with iTunes, Office or OpenOffice. >> The best deal is refurbed from Apple's site. >> >> 13.3" Macbook white - $849. >> http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB402LL/A?mco=MjE0NDk5Mw >> >> Don't curse her with Windows... >> >> Eric >> >> On Tue, May 12, 2009 at 9:09 AM, Charles Jones < >> charles.jones@ciscolearning.org> wrote: >> >>> If you never want to have to worry about problems with it. Get a Dell >>> and the "Complete Care" warranty. You can literally throw your laptop >>> against a wall and they will fix it good as new. Things I have seen them >>> fix, while having to support some employee laptops. >>> * Replaced shattered LCD - multiple times >>> * Replaced smashed keyboard from someone pounding it with their fist, >>> multiple times >>> * Replaced outer casing to fix drop damage >>> * Replace hard disk >>> * Replace motherboard >>> * Replace onboard trackpad and/or mouse buttons >>> * Replace broken USB ports >>> >>> Basically they fix anything wrong with it, and they come to wherever >>> you/she is to do it. All of the damage above was from abuse, and they >>> still made it just like new. >>> >>> -Charles >>> >>> Mark Phillips wrote: >>> > My oldest is heading off to college in the Fall, and she needs to take >>> > a laptop with her. She has used Linux all her life, but only from >>> > Gnome, so Windows, Mac, Linux are all "the same" to her. She is a >>> > journalist, not a computer geek. Anyway, one significant requirement >>> > is for iTunes to work with her iTouch (i.e. buy music and download to >>> > her iTouch). I have not been able to get Wine/iTunes to work with >>> > Debian, so I have resorted to a single Windows computer just for a few >>> > games and iTunes at home. >>> > >>> > Any recommendations (1) for laptops and (2) how to keep her using >>> > Linux and not shelling out extra bucks for a Mac, or heaven forbid, a >>> > Windows machine? >>> > >>> > Thanks! >>> > >>> > Mark >>> >> >> >> --------------------------------------------------- >> PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us >> To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: >> http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss >> > > > --------------------------------------------------- > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: > http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss >