School Daze....What to Consider for Back-to-School

Thanks to all of you who sent us your most burning back-to-school questions.  And judging from the inquiries we're receiving by phone, it appears that the "what's affordable in laptops/notebooks" question is the most pressing for many of you. 

So, for those looking to get the most bang for their buck, there are some great laptops/notebooks that can give students and others on a tight budget just what they need. And with September fast approaching, the deals will only get better and better.

One thing you can't skimp on is memory - so be sure to get at least 250G HD, 2 Gigabyte of RAM (with Vista) and a 128 Megabyte video card because you're going to want to be able to store your work, your music and your videos all in one place.

Some makes and models we like in the $800-$900 range include:

* Dell Latitude D630
* Dell Inspiron 1520
* Toshiba Satellite A135-S4467
* Compaq Presario V644US

They come with all the features and functions most any student will need and they're good, reliable performers.

Part-in-parcel with the student laptop inquiry often comes the question about safety and what filters are best for protecting minors from inappropriate Websites and potential online preditors. Unfortunately, no product out there is going to protect kids from everything on the Internet.

Net Nanny 4.0 and CyberSitter 2001 are two products that  can provide a helpful layer of protection. But ultimately, the best protection will come from the parent by their limiting how much time kids are online, instructing them on how to be safe cyber citizens and watching their online behaviors.

More back-to-school recommendations to come as we count down to that first bell.

Comments

[Ted]

Dear Realistic, Your point is well taken. Here at PlumChoice, we are PC-centric simply because that's where our customer base is currently focused. But we try to be as brand and model agnostic as possible -- and appreciate reminders such as yours to try and provide consumers with the full range of options open to them. Any time you'd like to chime in with an added thought or recommendation, we welcome your posts.

[Realist]

It's amusing how a company that makes its money fixing the many problems associated with Microsoft Windows sees fit to not recommend getting a Mac to go back to school with. I won't drone on about how Mac's are more secure, how all the software you need when going to school is available for the Mac platform, or any of those things. Suffice it to say, it makes complete sense that Plumchoice recommends a PC running Windows... that's how they butter their bread.

Do yourself a favor... don't fall for it. Do your research, and if at all possible, avoid buying a PC at all cost. There is a reason that the "Mac Fanatics" have such passion for their machines, and it has NOTHING to do with blind devotion.