macbook for my daughter

If you go to Apple Specs, you can compare. If she is doing all that ITunes, I would recommend the Pro with 2.0GB of RAM. It sounds like she is going to be using some RAM intensive software.

Next, has she been accepted at a college? If so, be sure and take advantage of education pricing. For example: MS Office, Student = $150. And it applies to hardware as well.

Hi there,

I think she would be just fine with a white macbook. These computers are fast, light and a power horse! Plus being a portable, perfect for the college student. I have had 4 mac laptops over the last 6 years and this computer is awesome! She will love it. If she has a large music collection you may need a larger hard drive. Be sure to get at least 1 gig of ram. Good luck.

PS I bet when you get her one, and see these guys in actin, you'll want one too!

as a recent college grad i went the desktop route and eventually regretted it (got the laptop for lawschool). its fine at first in the dorms but once you start moving around each year it becomes a hinderance. i think the macbook is fine for college (unless she is a graphic design/arts/music major, in which case the macbook PRO might be a better option) but regardless i would max out the RAM for either model.

in regards to software, office is pretty much the only program you need to buy, the rest comes with the mac. all the video/photo/music, etc. i know with the student discout (and yes it does apply to highschool as well) the iWork software is only like 50 bucks. i would wait till office comes out as a universal binary since it would be a waste to buy it now at 150 and have to buy another version in another couple of months (as i will have to do) iWork includes Pages (a nice word processor) and Keynote (a slideshow/powerpoint program) which should be good holdovers till the new office is released


i wouldnt worry about maxing out the harddrive specs, instead just buy her an external hardrive (pretty cheap for the amount of storage they provide) which will allow her to keep backups of all her information (in case the laptop gets stolen-all to frequent in the dorms now a days) as well as keep all her music (and much more of it) on the external without bogging down the internal HD

I had wondered if a PC might be
better for college

One of the reasons that colleges had a bias towards PCs was because they could run Windows software. Macs can now do that, so PC's have less advantage and Macs are fine for just about any major.

And Mac laptops have a very good track record. They last a good long time and handle upgrades very well, so a Macbook might well last her through to graduation.

For what it's worth, I started college with an iBook Rev. A, and my senior year purchased a TiBook (G4) 1GHz Superdrive. Now I'm in my last year of law school and purchased a MacBook Core2Duo 2GHz White. I'd say go the laptop route. Based on my experience, it's a toss-up between the mid-range MacBook and the low-end MacBook Pro.

I would just like to add that software via the school your daugher decides on going to may be much cheaper. For example I attend Texas A&M and I got Office for Mac for 10 bucks and windows xp pro for 15 bucks.

If I may further expand on what I was saying earlier:

A laptop is a smart investment for a college student for several reasons. First, the mobility means she will be able to take notes on it in class and work on assignments whereever she needs or wants to, as opposed to being limited to her room. Second, a laptop takes up much less space than a desktop, which is an important consideration when away at college. Third, the small size also means she can lock it away (like in a closet) to prevent theft (though you should also invest in a Kensington lock).

Desktop machines always give you more bang for your buck. However, for iTunes, you don't need a very impressive computer. Furthermore, the MacBook and MacBook Pro are nearly identical to the iMac and Mac Mini (they share many of the same internals, like disks and RAM).

One thing that I think currently sets apart the MacBook from all of the other consumer models in Apple's product line (and the MacBook Pro, for that matter) is the fact that it's so easy to upgrade the RAM and the hard drive. Although you can easily upgrade the RAM on an iMac or MacBook Pro, none of Apple's other models, save for the Mac Pro, allow easy removal and installation of a hard drive. In fact, it's impossible to get inside any of the other computers without having to virtually take them apart. Considering the speed with which technology progresses, I like the idea of being able to expand my RAM and storage space without having to completely disassemble my computer.

On a final note, I'd consider the low price of the MacBook (relatively speaking). Computers generally have a useful life of 3-4 years. After about 2 years, they're woefully outpaced by current computers. Given the short useful life, why spend twice as much (or more) on a computer when you can get something that will work well for the same amount of years as the more expensive models? Just my 2 cents...

Some schools offer ways to protect computers, usually by engraving something into the actual case, which makes it more difficult for a thief to fence. Unfortunately, it is also ugly...

My best advice is never leave your computer for a second, unless it's locked somewhere safe. Things have a way of walking away when you're not looking. Purchasing a computer lock (like the ones made by Kensington) is a good way to start protecting the machine, but really constant vigilance is the only way to avoid theft or damage.