Re: [LUG] college laptops

[comrade meowski <mr.meowski@xxxxxxxx>]

On 08/12/2020 20:13, Giles Coochey wrote:
> Just get them something that works and has long battery life.

I did: a MacBook M1.

Look, I knew this would happen but you're forgetting that Tom isn't 
buying a laptop for us* - old male IT professionals on a Linux mailing 
list. He's buying a critical tool that will be used for multiple hours 
per day for three years non-stop for a teenage girl about to head off to 
University to study a 3 year hard science degree. She doesn't want or 
need the same thing as us for the something that will be as vital a 
thing to her as her left arm or her phone. It's 2020, teenagers live on 
their laptops!

The cost (let's say ~£1500 for the Pro version plus 3 years of 
Applecare+) is a drop in the ocean in relation to the rest of the 
overall cost of funding a child's degree. I do agree with you that 
tuition and the total cost is indeed *very* expensive: that ~£1000 over 
and above the approx £500+ cost of the crappy generic x86 laptop that 
you'd recommend amerliorates to ~£333/year over the course and I've 
included AppleCare+ specifically to account for the guaranteed accidents 
that will happen in that time.

Disclaimer: I propose and buy a lot of gear for clients according to 
budgets and needs so I'm really used to this. I promise you I'm not 
trolling or being provocative, for this use case an Apple M1 really is 
the best choice in terms of ROI, ease of use, access to repairs, 
guarantee, practicality, etc. I'd make the case that this laptop is 
going to be the single most used/important tool in that young woman's 
life for the next three years so it's critical to do it right.

Even better, ask her I guess. She might have specific requirements.

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