DIGITAL FEVER
By Mike Kroll
It may seem like the middle of
summer but the truth is the fall college semester will be upon us all too soon.
Sending your son or daughter off to college is a major event in the lives of
parent and child alike, filled with a multitude of decisions. One of those
decisions almost certainly concerns a computer for your student. While it has
become extremely popular in recent years to send college students with a laptop
computer, and I am sure that is what your student said she absolutely had to
have, let me strongly suggest that you reconsider a desktop computer instead.
I operate a computer shop and have
a child going to college this fall. Preston will be studying mechanical
engineering and will definitely need a personal computer at school but IÕm certainly
not sending him with a laptop. We build custom computers in our shop and as his
graduation gift I built a very nice, very powerful desktop computer for my son.
This computer has a very fast 64-bit processor, large hard disk, beaucoup
memory, snazzy video card, DVD burner and nice LCD screen. It runs both his
math and graphics intensive CAD programs swiftly (as well as his games) and
would retail for less than half the price of a high-end but less-capable
laptop.
No doubt your child has told you
that the mobility of a laptop is critical to his college success. He has to be
able to carry with him to class and the library or to meet up with the study
group. A desktop is chained to the desk but that is also a key advantage. You
see the life of a laptop computer at college is perilous. A large proportion of
student laptops are lost, stolen, seriously damaged or even destroyed each
school year. The very portability of the laptop coupled with the typical
immaturity of most college students is a recipe for pocketbook disaster. And
needlessly so!
You see laptops are inherently
fragile and many of the common things that break are costly to repair or
replace. Whether it be spilled liquids on the keyboard (hugely common including
some very uncommon liquids), cracked LCD screens, or damaged connectors
(another common problem) many incidents can be cost prohibitive to repair. And
before you think, Ōhey, my homeowners insurance will cover itĶ consider not
only your increasingly common $500 deductible but also the range of perils
covered. Do you really think your insurance company will gladly pay out on
damage due to carelessness, negligence or lapsed judgment characteristic of
college students?
Taking a laptop to class is seldom
necessary or really that beneficial and even the lightest laptop gets to be a
burden combined with books and other class supplies. Also, laptop computers are
incredibly difficult to secure from theft. Say your daughter sets hers down to
speak with the professor, whoÕs going to notice when someone else nonchalantly
scoops it up and casually walks out of the classroom. After all, donÕt all
students and laptop computers look alike? Theft of laptops from libraries is
even more common. After she sets up her laptop on a table or in a study carrel
your daughter goes in search of the books she needs to complete the assignment.
The computer was only out of her sight for a moment or two but that is all it
takes, especially on a large campus or in a busy library.
The reality is that most of todayÕs
college campuses have lots of public-use computers and printers scattered
throughout. If you look at a tuition bill, there probably is a technology fee
applied to defray some of these costs. Nearly every college library will have
numerous computers available for student use. TodayÕs college campuses are
almost universally networked and your son most assuredly was assigned a college
e-mail address and perhaps even storage space on the college computer network.
He can use one of the campus computers when necessary and e-mail the work to
himself or save it to his storage area. Later he can work with this on the
desktop computer in his dorm room.
If you want to be even more
confident that your son or daughterÕs work on campus computers is easily
transportable, get them a USB flash drive. These non-volatile memory units are
small and relatively inexpensive but can hold anywhere from 64 megabytes to a
gigabyte of memory. For most students a 256-512Mb stick should be more than
ample to allow them to save work on any computer with a free USB port to their
flash drive and carry the drive in their pocket or on a lanyard around their
neck. Convenience at a cost less than many college text books, a USB flash
drive is a campus no-brainer. For adults unfamiliar with the technology these
are amazing devices. Smaller than those nifty spy cameras you remember from the
movies yet capable of holding huge amounts of data. Furthermore, any computer
sold within the last few years (Mac OS X or Win2000/WinXP) will recognize these
devices instantly without the need for special drivers. Once plugged into the
USB port, the computer sees the device as a removable hard disk. ItÕs so easy
you will probably want to get one for yourself too.
I am sending my son off to school
with his powerful desktop and two USB flash drives and he seems happy with the
plan. I guess if I wanted to reduce the power of the computer significantly, I
could have purchased a bargain laptop for about the same money but I would have
been short-changing him of important functionality. Before you make the
decision for yourself, check out the real price of a laptop configured to your
studentÕs needs and compare it to how much desktop computer the same money
could buy. Then figure the desktop will almost always outlive the laptop and
will cost less to repair over that lifespan. You do the math and have a candid
talk with your son and daughter about the realities of college life and IÕll
bet you can see the wisdom in skipping the laptop for students.
When they finish school and step out
into real life (and presumably a job) your college graduate may well decide to
purchase a laptop for themselves or, better yet, their employer may do it for
them. Either way the prognosis for the lifespan of that deferred laptop is
undoubtedly much better — reflecting maturity, judgment and the real-life
consequences of irresponsible laptop care. And remember, just like cars, kids
tend to take better care of any computer they bought with their own hard-earned
cash than one given to them. Your student will experience fewer problems if he
or she shares in both the original investment and the cost of maintenance and
upgrades.
Good Luck to parent and student
alike.
Mike Kroll operates Dr. Mike
Computer Therapist, a small computer shop in Galesburg where he daily provides
therapy to all sorts of computers. You can reach him by e-mail at
<Dr.Mike@Bizconnect.net>