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Topic: Chromebook vs. Netbook vs. Laptop
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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."
Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001
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posted 12-17-2012 03:29 PM
Richard, it's all about the specific applications your daughter will absolutely need to run as well as others she may want to run. That's what dictates the hardware requirements AND the choice of computing platform. Any needs of sharing project files with teachers and other students will further reinforce the choice of applications and computer operating system.
Too often end users will just go buy whatever system they think will work and then hope any hardware or software they need to install on the system will work. One of our message center customers ran out and bought a new iMac without asking us if it would work as a host computer for his new "jumbotron." Yeah, it runs Windows natively via Parallels, but the message center software and radios still couldn't install. The message center company says by policy they can't provide technical support to such an installation either. So now the guy is going to buy a Windows-based notebook just for the message center and use the iMac for other office related things.
A decent quality Windows-based notebook loaded with MS Office Home & Student Edition will provide the best chance of being compatible with most classroom needs. You could take a chance with buying a Mac-based notebook and add MS Office to it, but you'll spend more money as well as deal with cross platform headaches over the differences between Mac and PC based MS Office files. Office Mac and MS Office for Windows are not the same.
Chromebooks for just for the basics. Web surfing, e-mail and very basic multi-media use. The software is in the cloud.
Netbooks are not built at all for gaming. Few notebooks are for that matter. It at least takes a decent Dell XPS notebook for passable gaming performance. For good frame rates you have to spend even more for something like an Alienware machine.
A Linux based notebook would be fine if one only had to run Linux-based open source software or Windows software that ran perfectly under emulation. I know I can't go that route. Just from the angle of using Adobe Creative Suite applications running them under emulation in Linux is an absolute non-starter. This especially goes for the newest CS6 apps. You'll have both 32-bit and 64-bit copies of certain apps. Some apps are multi-threaded. They have a complicated activation system. The Creative Cloud is constantly pushing new features, bug fixes, etc. Maybe the worst thing for a Linux-based Windows emulator: Adobe's Mercury Playback Engine. It's not only platform specific, but it also demands certain graphics chipsets and properly working drivers. Putting it simply, if you're going to run any Adobe Creative Suite apps you must run them natively in Windows on a PC or in OSX on a Mac. Don't try anything else.
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Scott Jentsch
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1061
From: New Berlin, WI, USA
Registered: Apr 2003
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posted 12-19-2012 11:24 AM
Rick,
I think it will be difficult to find something that will fit your daughter's needs for $300, depending on what her course study will be when she goes to college. $300 gets you a very entry-level laptop that has been built to sell at an entry-level price. Unless her needs are very basic, I think $300 would be money poorly spent.
If she is going to be using the laptop on the go, weight is going to be a factor. The lighter the better. Unfortunately, slimming down a laptop usually means the price goes up. Think of the impact of putting a 5 pound laptop in a backpack with the other books she'll need for class.
I think you'll have an easier time finding something for your son for the $300 price point. His needs are probably going to be quite different, and weight probably won't be a huge factor for him.
I have an EeePC and while its small size is great, the keyboard is incredibly cramped. The screen is also quite small, so anything beyond very casual use (checking E-Mail, watching videos, light web browsing) is going to be difficult. You can hook up an external monitor, which helps. An external keyboard can be used, too, but then you wonder why you bought the small unit in the first place.
I looked at a Chromebook a month ago, and while its price is attractive, I think it's a very limited device and too much of a compromise to be useful. Since it runs a browser-based OS, if it can't be done in a browser, you're pretty much dead in the water. There are a few apps for the Chrome OS, but for the most part, you are going to have to rely on web-based apps, like Google Apps, for all functionality. I'm not even sure if it can be used if you don't have an Internet connection.
We're fast reaching a point where traditional laptops are needed less and less. Do they need a laptop, or would a tablet do the job better?
Office Depot had a Black Friday sale on the ASUS Transformer for $299, which a friend of mine purchased. He then picked up the keyboard portion for another $130 from somewhere. The combination of the portability and usefulness of a tablet along with the extended battery life and functionality of the detachable keyboard portion was a good fit for him. I think I saw a sale price recently of around $350, but I'm not sure where.
If the needs of your kids match the capabilities of something like the Google Nexus 7, ASUS Transformer, or iPad Mini/iPad 2, you've got something that could be quite useful for them for a variety of tasks, all at around $200-$320.
There are situations where tablets do not work (specific software needs, etc.), but tablets are looking forward while laptops are better suited to needs where certain software needs to be run or they're going to be doing involved work with video production, photography, etc.
You're running really short on time, but a refurbished iPad 2 is $319 from the Apple Store online. I think that's a great device at a great price. The iPad Mini retails for $329, so you can get that anywhere that has stock, and it's the same resolution as the iPad 2, but in a 7" form factor. The smaller screen can be a plus or a minus depending on the person, but a lot of people are finding that it's a nice mix of portability and size.
The Google Nexus 7 is cheaper at $200, but it's going to be a very different experience from the iPad. Whether that's good or bad depends on the person. Some people like that Android devices are more "open" but others hate the fact that the Android app market is so hit-and-miss compared to the Apple app market.
I think your son would be thrilled with the game choices available for the iPad. I don't have any awareness of how robust it is for the Android side of things, but I've heard complaints that many Android apps for the 7-inch form factor are relying on upsizing phone-sized apps instead of something intended for the 7" model's screen resolution (the iPad Mini is the same res as the iPad 2, so no problem there).
My guess is that your kids would be much happier with something like an iPad Mini or iPad 2 than they would with an entry-level laptop. iPads are more expensive than android-based counterparts, but they are built really well, and the ecosystem around them assures that almost any need can be supplied (even keyboards).
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