Social Technology

[mt.wellington]

Wanted to ask the hive what their suggestions were for a decent laptop that my twins will need for college next year. Been looking at the $2k mark for something that will hopefully serve them for the next 5 years. They want an Apple which for the budget would mean an Air but after a little research it would seem a Windows compatible unit would be more flexible, powerful and adaptive for their needs. Also looked into refurbished MacBooks but Im clueless on what's best. Money isn't really a problem but Im not looking to drop $5k on a laptop especially seeing as its times two for both of them. I think they only want Apple because its cool. I do like that its a poor system for gaming so less distractions but would prefer more bang for buck much like Android vs iPhone. Personally Im leaning towards a refurbished Apple so they don't complain about being the Oliver Twist of their class.

TIA...

 

[juju]

Wanted to ask the hive what their suggestions were for a decent laptop that my twins will need for college next year. Been looking at the $2k mark for something that will hopefully serve them for the next 5 years. They want an Apple which for the budget would mean an Air but after a little research it would seem a Windows compatible unit would be more flexible, powerful and adaptive for their needs. Also looked into refurbished MacBooks but Im clueless on what's best. Money isn't really a problem but Im not looking to drop $5k on a laptop especially seeing as its times two for both of them. I think they only want Apple because its cool. I do like that its a poor system for gaming so less distractions but would prefer more bang for buck much like Android vs iPhone. Personally Im leaning towards a refurbished Apple so they don't complain about being the Oliver Twist of their class.

TIA...

My daughters been using a MacBook Air and she's had no issues since she's had it since 3rd form & its been flawless for her needs.
She does alot of the creative design subject and the mac supports all of the programs.

Buying new you get the decent warranty too.

 

[Kestrel84]

I will just say that for certain tech you can happily buy second hand and it is generally risk free - but for computers, new (smart) TV's, etc, you really want to buy new as parts seem more prone to fail in this day and age (tech not built to last?) - so a warranty is super important.
Always try to buy on sale, of course. PB Tech's Black Friday sales start today (in-store) at 5pm. I have a few things on my shopping list to knock off.

Personally can't stand the Apple OS vs Windows/Android due to its inflexibility, but obviously its simplicity suits certain people.

 

[Inruin]

I went with windows laptops for my kids. First ones for them were fairly cheap refurbished ones that had good specs. Check the battery life though and if you can get replacements. Oldest wanted an Apple because some of his mates had them but I'm paying for it and he gets what he gets! My thinking was that I didn't want an expensive piece of equipment that is likely to get dropped or broken (which happened for one of them) and I could upgrade them to a better one later when they were a bit cheaper than now for their final couple of years at high school and for University. Seemed to work out ok so far. Really depends on what you can afford and how responsible your kids are I guess?

 

[snake77]

Kestrel84 advice for PBTech is a good place to look. You can separate the brands or types (business, Windows/Apple). Even with Black Friday I'd stare clear off anything too cheap. I got one from Noel Leeming to play music in the garage. It didn't have multi-threading so Windows was a nightmare. I ended up having to insall Linux on it.

I like to get business laptops. Mainly from my old days working internal IT roles thinking they had better specs or the version of Windows they'd come with. It might not matter as much now.

My last few have all been HP. All I can use past the 3 year warranty period.
I still have one downstairs which is fine. Just a first world problem it wouldn't charge off the USB C port. A change of docking station fixed that.

I also have my old work laptop here for the kids. A Dell lattitude, 4 years old and it still gets a lot of battery time.

I typically look at the memory and ports.
It will be rare that they don't come with an SSD or M.2 drive. This will improve the start up time and are more reliable due to less moving parts.
Memory to ensure it will last and work well.
The ports it depends on what you are connecting to it. USB C charging is convenient. For example I use that at home and keep the power pack for travelling.

For HP. The Pro Book has more ports. The EVO is lighter and probably would suit students.

I recently got a refurbished EVO for home. That was to run Linux. It isn't our main one. Like Inruin mentioned for the refurbrished laptops the battery would be the main concern. The one I recently got works well.

From PBTech you should be able to get something within that price range.

 

[Inruin]

Kestrel84 advice for PBTech is a good place to look. You can separate the brands or types (business, Windows/Apple). Even with Black Friday I'd stare clear off anything too cheap. I got one from Noel Leeming to play music in the garage. It didn't have multi-threading so Windows was a nightmare. I ended up having to insall Linux on it.

I like to get business laptops. Mainly from my old days working internal IT roles thinking they had better specs or the version of Windows they'd come with. It might not matter as much now.

My last few have all been HP. All I can use past the 3 year warranty period.
I still have one downstairs which is fine. Just a first world problem it wouldn't charge off the USB C port. A change of docking station fixed that.

I also have my old work laptop here for the kids. A Dell lattitude, 4 years old and it still gets a lot of battery time.

I typically look at the memory and ports.
It will be rare that they don't come with an SSD or M.2 drive. This will improve the start up time and are more reliable due to less moving parts.
Memory to ensure it will last and work well.
The ports it depends on what you are connecting to it. USB C charging is convenient. For example I use that at home and keep the power pack for travelling.

For HP. The Pro Book has more ports. The EVO is lighter and probably would suit students.

I recently got a refurbished EVO for home. That was to run Linux. It isn't our main one. Like Inruin mentioned for the refurbrished laptops the battery would be the main concern. The one I recently got works well.

From PBTech you should be able to get something within that price range.

last ex-lease refurbished one I got was from Just Laptops just off Oteha Valley rd on the North Shore. great specs and battery life was very good too.