Developing the 2015 Macbook

The guy in the video is a Spanish comedian, a regular on this particular TV show. He’s telling a story about when he got a job at a seafood restaurant. The boss told him to clean out twenty paella pots. He got the brilliant idea to set them out by the sea overnight and let the surf clean them. He didn’t account for high tide, so the next morning all the pots but one were washed away, and the boss wanted him to pay for them. So he left, and never went back.

So....you're going to send your kid to college with paella pots?

RE: your kid and a computer - a couple of thoughts. The school (web site?) might be able to offer some guidance, particularly if it's a school with a heavy tech emphasis.

Macs these days can run Windows. The advantage is that you're ready to rock with Mac software and most Windows software. The disadvantage is that Macs cost more and you have to buy a copy of Windows to load into it. Macs are very well-made and usually have a higher resale value if she wants to sell it at some point. Apple also has very highly-ranked customer/tech support.

I have a lot more Mac experience than Windows. If someone can add a pros and cons list for it, be my guest. Again, I'd try the school first. If you're dealing with a general, liberal arts school, they'll probably tell you it's up to you.

Make sure she's security conscious. Students are prime targets for theft because of the sheer amount of expensive equipment they carry around, or leave around waiting for someone to walk away with.

Macs are far more expensive than comparably equipped PCs, less expandable, less adaptable, with fewer software options. They are made for people with no computer knowledge who believe the marketing hype. They are also excellent at incurring ridiculous costs for peripherals and replacement parts (look at the price of replacing the power supply/chargers and batteries, as a guideline.)

For school use, weight is the very first issue - lugging around even two extra pounds is noticeable. Next comes battery life, then internal storage. Then comes Microsoft Office, since everything is done in Office formats. An external backup drive (and the habit to use it at least every month, but every week is optimal) is important. Anything else might be nice, but not necessary for school. Also note that a cheap computer is cheaper to replace when, for instance, it is knocked off the desk or serves as a crashpad when skateboarding, and less likely to be stolen.

I think the key here is what will she use it for? If she's studying graphic design or something, then she might want a Mac, as they have quite good software for that.

One thing to remember is, college students usually aren't far from wifi or an outlet. If she wants to carry it a lot, get a smaller size. There will probably be a tv with an HDMI port she can plug it into if she wants to watch movies, and there are lots of usb/bluetooth keyboard options that are more comfortable. She can dock it at home, and be able to carry it around easily. Wifi-wise, she can probably do most of her word-processing online. Google Docs can save as .doc files. I don't know how most US students do it, but I don't really care what format my own students turn their papers in in, as they get converted to pdf files that I can then mark on.

Personally, I play games, so I'd go with a desktop plus a tablet of some sort that I can use with a bluetooth keyboard for note-taking. That would run you about the same price as a Macbook. I recently came back from a 3-week trip, part of which was a conference. I was able to work on my presentation and tweak some things in my handout using my iPad and bluetooth keyboard with few problems (Google Slides ate part of my presentation, but that's a software issue).

Since the decision is to get a Mac, let me put in a plug for the Mac Mini. Unless a laptop is an absolute requirement, the Mini is as (or more) powerful, has more connectivity, connects to cheap peripherals and is one third the cost. Besides, no one want to steal them.

As for backup, here is a link for 5GB of free online storage: iDrive