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Post by EspadaIII on Sept 5, 2021 11:13:28 GMT
Daughter is starting A-levels and wants a new portable laptop for school. It needs to be light, no bigger than 14" screen and not too expensive.
As she is an Andriod user, I did wonder about getting her a Chromebook. Any views on this? I have always been a Windows person but happy to consider sensible alternatives.
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Rob
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Post by Rob on Sept 6, 2021 1:12:31 GMT
Some experience on laptops from me... not that I've had or bought many laptops..
* Previous work laptop was a workstation class machine with a large 15+ inch screen and was very heavy. I rarely took it anywhere. Replacement a few years ago was also of similar performance but since it ditched a DVD/CD writer and hard drive a lot lighter.
* Looking at 15.6 s 14" laptop in the past seemed to suggest larger screens were cheaper.... And an obvious reason is more space in the chassis for cheaper/larger components.
Final questions though is budget and what does it need to run? If not needed to run particular apps then it makes it easier and more options. You already mention Chromebook but a fair bit more but an Apple ARM based laptop would be my choice.
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Post by Alanović on Sept 6, 2021 8:22:44 GMT
My son is evidently the same year groups as EIII-ette. He insisted on a Macbook Air, and who am I to argue. He is now happy and the problem has gone away, whilst I sip a G&T and browse Autotrader.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Sept 6, 2021 8:24:14 GMT
Boy2 got through A-levels with a Chromebook and is only now, as he prepares for university, looking at a more capable Windows machine. For school, the Chromebook has the big advantages that it’s cheap, robust and doesn’t rely on onboard storage, so if it’s lost, stolen or broken the work is still in a safe place. Small is also good. Lugging an overweight laptop is miserable enough if you’re my size (I’m not a fan of my 14in corporate paving-slab Dell) so choose something with a 13-inch screen and an HDMI connector for an external display at home. Chromebooks are light on batteries, so she might not need to carry a power adaptor every day — or could possibly leave a second one in a locker at school to save lugging. I’ll ask Boy2 some more about his experiences with the Chromebook — but it’s the morning, so it’ll have to wait till he gets up. 🛌 My son is evidently the same year groups as EIII-ette. He insisted on a Macbook Air, and who am I to argue. He is now happy and the problem has gone away, whilst I sip a G&T and browse Autotrader. A MacBook and a Toyota Avensis? Quite the style victim, isn’t he? 😈 |
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Post by Alanović on Sept 6, 2021 8:50:30 GMT
You ain't heard nuthin yet. There's a green Nissan Almera for sale in High Wycombe. He's interested in that.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Sept 6, 2021 9:14:09 GMT
He does know it’s no more Japanese than the Avensis, doesn’t he?
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Post by Alanović on Sept 6, 2021 9:33:45 GMT
Oh yeah. Japanese badge tho. Seems to be important. Who am I to argue.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Sept 13, 2021 7:01:42 GMT
Ordered an Acer Aspire 5 yesterday for Boy2’s further studies. A 15.6in one, which he preferred for on-screen reading and the wider keyboard. He’s only a ten-minute walk from campus, so the extra 200g isn’t a big concern, and the bigger battery in the bigger case takes the nominal battery life over the threshold to not needing to carry the power unit most days.
A bigger concern would have been finding a 14in model if he’d insisted; they seem to have been snapped up, possibly in a back-to-school rush.
All probably a bit more than a sixth former needs. Have you made any progress, Esp?
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Rob
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Post by Rob on Sept 13, 2021 18:02:48 GMT
15.6" laptops have always been cheaper than 14" ones. My current work one is fairly light and is classed as a workstation. The one I had before this which they insisted on replacing was of equal performance albeit with hybrid SSD/HDD but was more than twice the weight.
Still prefer the MacBook Pro.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Sept 13, 2021 18:59:32 GMT
Yes. The other problem I have with a big laptop is that it won’t fit in the typical hotel room safe, whereas my 14in Latitude lump just will. Not a problem for most students — or even for me any more. 😢
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Post by EspadaIII on Sept 13, 2021 20:48:07 GMT
Apologies for lack of response. Its been Jewish New Year so out of communication for a few days last week.
I have a 14" laptop at home but I needed to check if we had a spare 15.6" in the office so I could give the smaller one to my daughter and bring the larger one home. But we don't so I need to start looking properly.
She is threatening to emigrate to Israel after school (not that I'm unhappy about that) so getting her a decent 14" laptop may be a waste if she needs one with a dual language keyboard when she gets there. So I may just go down the chromebook route for economy for two years.
Given that I am very used to using an Android tablet, I'm sure I can help her set it up. Just need to find the best machine.
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Post by Alanović on Sept 14, 2021 7:31:01 GMT
Happy New Year, EIII, hope the celebrations were good.
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Post by EspadaIII on Sept 14, 2021 18:35:13 GMT
Thank you. A mix of prayer and food... Always good!
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bpg
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Post by bpg on Sept 17, 2021 18:21:17 GMT
Sounds like the reverse of a students Saturday night out.
What is the second language ? What language is your daughter most familiar with when typing ?
Would buying a laptop from another market work ?
I struggle with a QWERTY keyboard now, prefer QWERTZ.
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Rob
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Post by Rob on Sept 17, 2021 19:11:52 GMT
>> What is the second language ?
Thought that was obvious - Hebrew. I can imagine that makes quite a difference.
I assume an external keyboard for the laptop for that won't be an option for her down the line? Presumably you have to tell the OS to switch keyboard layout.
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