How to convince daughter she doesn't need a Mac?

zaqwsx3 on 28/11/2016 - 17:05

The school my daughter attends has a "bring your own technology" program. Basically, the students all need to bring their own laptop to school, and of course all kids at that age want an Apple Mac ("because everyone else has one so I need one too, and my friends say its the best one to get, and blah blah"). The only requirements the school has given is it must run Windows 8.1 or above, Max OS X 10.9 or above, support WPA2, between 11-15 inch screen, and weigh under 1.5Kg. Now I could go and buy a Macbook Air 11" for ~$1200 (1.6GHz/4GB/128GB), or I could use that $1200 and presumably get a lot more bang for my buck in some other brand Windows 10 beastie.

So what's a good spec laptop for around the $1200 price range, and any tips on how to convince the daughter she's better off without an Apple product even though all her friends will probably have one?

Computing

Comments

  • BensonP on 28/11/2016 - 17:11
    +108

    Ask her to chip in some allowance money. That'll soon change her mind!

    But honestly, you can't change her mind. Apple's marketing is amazing in the way they have almost brainwashed the average joe into thinking their product is the best and everything else is inferior.

    • stanstho on 28/11/2016 - 17:20
      +40

      I use a Macbook air 11 similar to the one OP mentioned. There was a great joke that went around tech websites for the last few years which essentially boiled down too "the best windows PC is a mac".
      Apple computers aren't exactly budget friendly, but they provide value in their versatility, hard wearing construction, ease of use and support. It is true they are also very well marketed and undoubtedly this comes into many people decisions more than it should, but you cant doubt the quality of the product.

      • mbck on 28/11/2016 - 17:53
        +66

        Definitely, I love the quality of their adapters, very well built.

      • Aceboy884 on 29/11/2016 - 08:51
        +13

        Second that

        My 6 year old air is still going strong

        Never lags

        • turkz1 on 29/11/2016 - 10:11
          +21

          Woooosh

        • nushydude on 30/11/2016 - 12:21

          My mid 2011 MBA 13 is a lag fest!

          You can read about my issues here:
          http://www.anushand.com/2016/11/i-was-hoping-to-upgrade-my-a…

          Was planning to upgrade to a MBP this year, but prices are too high. That money will go into the house deposit fund. sigh

        • lgacb08 on 30/11/2016 - 16:41
          +1

          Meh, my 2014 air lags like a galaxy running Samsung's firmware and guess what cause the lag? Gmail. And you can't kill off the browser easily like a pc.

        • [Deactivated] on 30/11/2016 - 17:45
          +3

          @nushydude:

          Anus…hand

          OK

        • Blottski on 01/12/2016 - 08:23
          +1

          @sagiballs:

          LOL! no way am I clicking that link…. :D

        • Droz on 01/12/2016 - 12:32
          +5

          @lgacb08: What exactly do you mean by "You can't kill off the browser easily like a pc"?

          You can close any program you like. Command + Q quits apps. If you need to force close an app, you can either right click the icon in the dock, hold "option" which then changes "quit" to "force quit", OR you can press Command, Option and Esc together - brings up Force Quit menu where you can select an application.

          Otherwise, you can normally (with Chrome, Safari and Firefox) press Command + W to close the tab/window.

          Chrome also has it's own task manager if you're using that.

          Can you explain your issue?

        • no not me on 02/12/2016 - 06:17
          -1

          @lgacb08: application memory management is so much better on macOS. If the memory is needed and the application is not opened, the unused memory will simply be dropped. The application with no windows and not doing anything will be put to sleep, meaning it uses zero CPU and only holds memory. Memory which is released as required. This is great if you have a lot of RAM because it means you can close out some applications and reopen them quickly. I find that I'll close photoshop or illustrator on Windows and reopen it five minutes later. On macOS I simply close the window and reopen a new one.

          If you actually want to quit, right click the dock icon and quit or command+q. The idea is that continuously killing applications is almost always more expensive than letting them reside in memory, using no resources. This, however, fails if there are any memory leaks in a given application but that shouldn't be a huge ongoing issue. The same rules apply on mobile applications. Windows doesn't encourage keeping applications alive, where they probably should, especially given the large amounts of ram in modern computers.

        • gif on 02/12/2016 - 08:48

          @nushydude:

          Mid 2011 MBA 13 here also, mine still flies. i5 1.7Ghz with 4GB ram and 256Mb SSD. I am surprised how well it is still going, even on macOS Sierra. So much so that I still don't feel the need to upgrade (although of course, I would like to). I didn't read your link but have you tried wiping it and starting fresh?

        • lgacb08 on 02/12/2016 - 08:55

          @no not me: meh, all hypothetical analysis just mean nothing. My mac air's safari browser just hang indefinitely with that damn rainbow circle pretty much everytime I reopen the lid. No such thing happens to the pc with same specs running Firefox, which is notoriously memory hungry. Both machines have nothing fancy installed apart from office suits. And guess what, force quit in macos doesn't mean immediately force quit, in pc, open task manager and you can just kill anything instantly, no lingering around.

        • Cyphar on 02/12/2016 - 09:50

          @lgacb08:

          And you can't kill off the browser easily like a pc.

          Apple > Force Quit > Select browser

          Not sure how it can get any easier…

        • nushydude on 02/12/2016 - 14:45

          @sagiballs:

          Haha. Right. You are the second one who pointed that to me.

          That domain name was unintentional though.

        • nushydude on 02/12/2016 - 14:50

          @a1ienz:

          I'm not saying it is terrible. I also run macOS Sierra and I think with the latest updates it is working OK.

          I have wiped it.

          Let me copy the gripes I have with my mid-2011 13" MacBook Air with 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD.

          1. My model has the Japanese keyboard layout as it was bought from Japan. Not applicable for most people.

          2. 4GB RAM is so limiting. Chrome alone sucks up its memory dry.

          3. Battery is pretty weak now. I had been getting 'Service battery warning' for quite a while.

          4. 128GB storage is limiting, especially when you have Windows installed in there as well. And despite being an SSD, it only does 200MB/s sequential reads and writes.

          5. No touch screen (well, you don't get one even on the latest MacBook Pros but that's a different story)

          6. CPU is pretty weak at 1.6GHz Core i5 ULP dual core.

          7. Screen resolution is OK, but would prefer higher density like 3200x1800 on the Dell XPS 13

          8. Wi-Fi speeds are so slow. Only supports up to 802.11n but at least supports 5GHz band. Still, I'm limited to about 150Mbps. I cannot stream a HD video from my server through the Asus DSL-AC68 router.

          9. It runs pretty hot when running demanding tasks, although the fan doesn't run as badly as it used to in 2011-2012. I'm sure Apple has tweaked the OS a bit since then, but still it runes pretty hot.

        • Nuggets on 03/12/2016 - 14:39

          @lgacb08: what do you mean you can't kill off the browser easily?

        • no not me on 04/12/2016 - 22:10

          @lgacb08: Activity Monitor is the macOS equivalent of Task Manager. You can also use kilall proc_name or kill proc_pid.

        • lgacb08 on 05/12/2016 - 15:52

          @no not me: thanks, I'll have a look on that. Go to Apple>Force Quit actually made no difference to using right click and force quit, the app still took ages.

        • Tenebrae on 06/12/2016 - 13:35

          @nushydude: Anus hand? Nice try.

        • nushydude on 07/12/2016 - 12:13

          @Tenebrae:

          you can try the original blogspot url if you are so scared.

          it's chroniclesofnushy.blogspot.com

        • oscarthesausagedog on 13/12/2016 - 21:54

          @a1ienz:

          Exactly my experience with the same hardware.
          Anyone with slowness issues should format their HDD and do a fresh install. This applies to Mac OS or Windoze.

      • virhlpool on 29/11/2016 - 23:08
        +1

        They also come with a lot of pain though.. compatibility issues (starting from electronics to software), comparatively difficult OS to get used to, etc.

        • [Deactivated] on 30/11/2016 - 11:13
          +4

          If anything has one of the most simplest OS to get adjusted to and if everyone around you is using a Mac, might as well?

        • bozbargain on 30/11/2016 - 11:30
          +5

          @SeriouslyJk: Exactly! OP, why do you feel the need to 'convince' your daughter that she doesn't need a Mac? School has clearly given you the options for either Windows or Mac and you and your daughter seem to have different preferences. You don't seem to be concerned about the price (since you would rather buy a more powerful Windows 10 'beasty'). Since it's your daughter who will have to work on it and if most of the other kids go for a Macbook, it could be easier for everyone to settle on a Mac. Also, with the new range of MacBook Pros a whole range or MacBook Airs will soon become obsolete, you may be able to get one for <$1,000 after Xmas.

        • no not me on 02/12/2016 - 06:21

          macOS might be difficult coming from Windows. From Linux and to Linux the learning curve is minimal. Windows is the outlier here. Overall, I'd say macOS is less hassle than Windows for day to day use, updates, OS version upgrades, installation of software, no registry, no FS fragmenting,little to no need for AV, etc.

      • chiuy on 30/11/2016 - 17:53
        +4

        versatility.
        LoL

    • trustnoone on 28/11/2016 - 18:05
      +27

      Definitely agree with this, maybe tell her you'll chip in say $1000 for a (win) laptop and if she wants something better (ie the mac) she has to pay the extra for it. It will let her get what she wants while teaching her an important point of getting something thats good value for money. Who knows, you might turn her into an ozbargain hunter looking for a good deal lol.

      • Godric on 02/12/2016 - 07:25

        Mac better? Hmmmmhmhmhmhmmmmm

      • Wraith on 02/12/2016 - 13:39

        Don't buy a $1,000 laptop. This laptop is going to/from school every day. It is going to be punished and physically abused regularly.

        Personally, I'd buy a Macbook, because they are light, super portable, tough as boots, and have outstanding build quality. I'd probably put Windows on it, though. If I were not going to get a Mac, I'd be looking for another laptop with similar features (build quality, weight, durability). These laptops are not the base $1,000 units.

        • banana365 on 02/12/2016 - 14:46
          +2

          I used to work for a company that sold laptops to schools (big money in it a few years ago). We used to do pick up runs once or twice a week to service broken laptops (both Mac and Windows). These were physical breakages - they take one hell of a lot of abuse. Kids shove them in their bags, then use their bags as seats/steps/weapons/whatever. It's part of the reason I ended up getting my son a $400 laptop - powerful enough for school needs, but not expensive enough that I need to sell one of his organs to replace it if it gets broken.

        • Wraith on 02/12/2016 - 15:07
          +2

          @banana365:

          Ya, that's the other way - buy a super cheap laptop, and replace it every 6 months or so.

        • banana365 on 02/12/2016 - 15:45

          @Wraith: My son's one is still going strong after a couple of years. It's a cheap wee HP thing (I think it may have been less than $400 actually, maybe $340 from OfficeWorks) and I've been pleasantly surprised by how long it's lasted and how much abuse it can take, including having the dog use it as a warming pad when it's plugged in and charging.

    • dbun1 on 29/11/2016 - 10:55
      +11

      The MBA is still within the OP's budget.

      This isn't about the Macbook being too expensive, it's about the OP thinking that for the same money they can get something "better" as a Windows machine - which will make next to no difference for how the daughter is actually using the machine in a school environment.

      I guess the only thing is if the daughter is actually wanting the 12" Macbook, then the price jumps substantially. Then it becomes hard as the friends will be rocking up with their Rose Gold Macbooks etc and even with a MBA she will still feel out of the circle.

      • Scrooge McDuck on 29/11/2016 - 19:33
        +7

        Put an Apple sticker on a white PC: Problem solved!

    • Elision on 02/12/2016 - 10:27
      +2

      Also not to mention that the "social" value will be much more important to her than any specifications a better laptop will have. It won't matter to her. No one will care if she has a monster gaming laptop or something.

  • tunzafun001 on 28/11/2016 - 17:17
    +26

    Back in my days I was the loser kid with an Apple computer, while everyone else had some form of IBM /PC. Ironically back then, Microsoft's marketing was the key!

    back on track…

    Get a refurb / 2nd hand mac. Get her to find it, have some ownership of it. Whatever you get it will be a google, youtube and word processing machine!

      • StickMan on 28/11/2016 - 23:03
        +11

        I think you don't know what you're talking about, so I won't point out the areas where you're wrong. Unless you want me to.

      • RockyRaccoon on 29/11/2016 - 03:39

        Sounds like a windows user, again, like the OS, you think that because they look the same, they are the same.

        Macs resale is higher for a reason.

        • WhyAmICommenting on 29/11/2016 - 14:11

          Supply and demand

        • xoom on 29/11/2016 - 16:14
          +4

          @spillmill:

          FTFY

          stifled supply creating artificial demand.

        • Jackson on 29/11/2016 - 18:01
          +2

          RRP is higher because Apple artificially controls stock and pricing on new products in essentially what is not a competitive market. This causes resale to then be higher

        • ninjataki on 01/12/2016 - 20:48

          @Jackson: ^summed it up nicely

        • y on 02/12/2016 - 02:16
          +4

          @Jackson: Complete nonsense. Apple produces as many iPhones and MacBooks as they can possibly sell. Even if they artificially constrained supply on product release (which they don't), how would this influence the resale value of a 3-4 year old MacBook which is substantially higher than that of a 3-4 year old non-Apple laptop? It wouldn't.

          Resale values are higher because the hardware is high quality and lasts and they're simply desirable & well-made products, that is all. You get what you pay for.

        • Jackson on 02/12/2016 - 08:11

          @y: sorry but I have to opine that what you are saying is complete nonsense, of course the RRP of a new item affects it's own resale. A Porsche might cost 200k, but most of that price is in prestige and limited availability. Saying that a second hand Porsche would then cost the same as a second hand WRX or GTR is nonsense. The fact that you have to pay over a certain amount to be 'in the club' is a deliberate marketing strategy. Also they absolutely do withold as much stock as possible and have done this at least since the ipod, and it's evidence day the fact that they are never on sale (beyond the pittance of 10% off) so actually they would rather hold on to stock than sell it for similar reasons that power tool companies bought back their Masters stock to save brand damage. There are many ways to constrain supply, and one of them is with pricing which they do very effectively. In fact one of the biggest complaints of car companies dropping their prices is that it immediately affects the resale of that model car second hand (I am quoting John Cadogan here)

          Regarding the quality of the devices, the electronics are in no way a higher quality than any other laptops. They are all Intel based and they all have similar failure rates, and are made in the same factories. Their build and finish might be great, but we have piles of failed Mac books and the only difference is that between how hard they are to repair and the extortionate pricing for iParts they aren't worth fixing most of the time. What people are actually paying for is an OS/ecosystem, a sexy looking machine, to be part of a club, and because in an area of life where many people don't understand enough about why things may or may not work, and one often associated with their work success, they overcompensate in the hope that they will get a better result

        • kryptoz on 03/12/2016 - 22:59
          +1

          Actually I work in IT support, so I have to deal with almost every kind of computer issue, including Macbooks, Windows, Chrome and Android. Personally I use Ubuntu for my main work PC, and whatever other hardware as required to test new software prior to rollout, or VMWare if I'm in a pinch.
          OSX (which is based on Unix) is actually great for people who just want to do the basics without figuring out how anything works, esp. elderly people who aren't so good at learning new stuff — but OSX regular checkups esp. for enterprise-type environments to keep it running smoothly — just like the proverbial blonde who drives their car daily but never checks the oil/water/tyre tread, it's a disaster waiting to happen. Windows has as many problems as OSX, but users often figure out half the issues before they reach our desk. Also, Apple's hardware is increasingly locked down that hardware can't be swapped or upgraded except by Apple themselves, which costs often more than buying a new phone/tablet/laptop.
          In a perfect world, perhaps everyone would be using Linux, since it has fewer issues but software compatibility… on great tool on OSX is Parallels, but while you can run Windows applications inside OSX, it's performance is still rubbish on even on a Mac Pro D500, compared to your average HP/Lenovo workstation.

      • no not me on 02/12/2016 - 06:26

        Refurbished models come with two year warranties and have higher resale. Macs in general resale for more than PCs. At the end of the day, it's not likely she will care about specs. She wants a MacBook and it's probably a better choice for school due to better battery.

        Equivalent non-apple laptops in the same range of quality and specs retail for around the same as the MacBook lines, such as the Dell XPS and various ThinkPads. Of course the crappy plastic Acer from Officeworks is cheaper, it also looks and feels cheaper and won't last as long as the MacBook, XPS or ThinkPad.

  • narcoleptic-haze on 28/11/2016 - 17:26
    +13

    Not sure what else you'd plan to use it for, but I'm guessing the most that it'll be doing is word documents, excel spreadsheets, and LOTS of web browsing/social media and youtube stuff. So a basic Macbook Air would do, she doesn't need a technical beast Windows Laptop. Sure you pay more for the Apple brand name, but if it makes her feel connected with her friends, it's probably worth it.

    • scrimshaw on 28/11/2016 - 17:38
      +13

      she doesn't need a technical beast Windows Laptop.

      LOL, you know kids these days are sometimes more tech savvy than their parents.

      I used to work in high school as a repair technician (I fix the student's laptops) and the kids seem to be more connected than the teachers themselves when it comes to technology. I have a hard time trying to explain to a teacher on how our networked drive and shared folders work, while the kids have already worked out how to use a VPN and TightVNC remote desktop to get around the school's proxy.

      • mskram on 29/11/2016 - 09:35
        +20

        Recently I feel like students have regressed in regards to technology. Whilst their are still the few who are brilliant, the vast majority are rather tech illiterate.

        • Bugsarse on 29/11/2016 - 09:58
          +11

          Yep this is my experience too. Not many are keen to get into command line stuff let alone pulling apart code to get what they want. It is consumerised dumbing down thanks to the likes of Apple removing peoples access to anything useful in their OS. My kids think I am a wizard because I go through log files to look for errors…

        • jenkemjunkie on 29/11/2016 - 10:25
          +4

          @Bugsarse:

          Apple is pretty good when it comes to command lining because it's a unix based OS. It's probably better than powershell and it's variants offered on windows. A lot of programmers use macs because their OS isn't as restrictive as you think.

          I grew up with computers so I've got quite a few. From learning how to code my own games on a Commodore 64 and doing BASIC on a Microbee XT. I was modding computers before the whole 'gamer thing'. Dremeling out my own windows and having to make my own light kits and putting a peltier on a GeForce 3 Ti to get the 2nd highest 3D mark score in Australia. I pretty much only use a PC with windows if I want to play a game. A lot of people conflate Apple as being shit because they can't play games on it.

          What I'm getting at is that a Mac is probably still a good choice for his daughter even if the initial spend is high. She's not going to mess it up as easy as a windows joint. I still have a 2009 MacBook running ununtu with no problems. I also use a MacBook 12, they last and the resell is pretty good.

          Also logs on a MacBook are pretty straight forward to get to.

        • RockyRaccoon on 29/11/2016 - 16:57

          @jenkemjunkie: Good point about the games. At my sons school he was the one to go on to programming fulltime, where the others all just played games on their laptops. With Macs the distractions in education are less, and the real point here is having them for education not games.

          Now to clarify, he loves his games, it just meant while he was at school he wasnt able to be distracted by the games like his mates were. When he got home the games began on the home system.

        • jenkemjunkie on 29/11/2016 - 17:44

          @RockyRaccoon:

          Nurture that programming. See if he can understand logic gates now because if he continues the path he'll be glad he knows it. Just introduce it to him and see what he thinks.

          My nephew just started reading my dads books on coding. I saw him pull a probably 30yo fortran book from the bookshelf the other day and was engrossed in it lol.

          Totally understand, kids want to play games that's cool, I remember my dad was real strict on me not playing too many games and I'll be like that with my kids and I'm grateful I had that guidance.

          Parents think that if their kid spends ages on a computer they will become good at computers which is definitely not the case. They're just another kid that is only concerned about specs to play games, they have no impetus in discovering the fundamentals of computing.

        • Abaddon on 30/11/2016 - 13:23

          @jenkemjunkie: Windows 10 linux subsystem means you get the best of both worlds. Also, since this is for education, why not get started on the platform which would be used in most workplaces?

        • jenkemjunkie on 30/11/2016 - 17:38

          @Abaddon:

          That answer depends on how good it plays League of Legends.

        • cryptos on 01/12/2016 - 19:54
          +1

          @Bugsarse: ur a complete noob ^

        • no not me on 02/12/2016 - 06:33

          @Bugsarse: dumbing down? Because people don't use stuff like Apple Script and Automator in macOS doesn't mean Apple is guilty of dumbing down anyone.

          On iOS, sure but at the same time you can learn to program in Swift on an iPad. With Automator you can script and automate practically any functionality in any application in macOS. The language is simple, it feels like pseudo code and it's actually a pretty great feature. I don't see Microsoft pushing much to get kids to improve their knowledge, especially when they have a mobile platform that is practically non-existent.

        • SirDale on 02/12/2016 - 23:40

          @Bugsarse:

          Utilities/Terminal.

          Just exactly what are you talking about?

        • Doggiie on 04/12/2016 - 10:50

          @Bugsarse: Mac does have the benefit of being a *NIX system, making it easier to play with command line (by the term 'easier', I mean following a standard).

      • Cyphar on 02/12/2016 - 09:53

        LOL, you know kids these days are sometimes more tech savvy than their parents.

        Actually, my own experiences working in IT, as well as a former teacher, tells me kids these days no LESS about computers than I did growing up.

        This is because they just want things right now rather than looking in to it. Rather than fixing something, they just buy something new. Applications that were complex when I was a kid have been dumbed down to be more intuitive (Thats not a bad thing though. Infact it is awesome).

        No learning is needed so kids these days are less technical than the previous generations

    • RandomNinja on 28/11/2016 - 17:38
      +5

      +1 here re: whether or not a higher spec Windows laptop is needed.

      You'll need to convince her that a higher spec Windows machine will give her better 'value' than the Mac. As you've alluded to, the value of the Mac is about fitting in with her friends more than what the laptop can do. Can you find a $1200 non-Apple machine that can do a better job for her?

      • Ughhh on 28/11/2016 - 18:26
        +17

        The "value" you're talking about here means nothing to a school girl, specs mean nothing, they don't care. They care about fitting in and being "cool".

        • bathuu on 29/11/2016 - 06:28
          +1

          100 per cent agree. Teenagers!!! arrghhh…

        • Bugsarse on 29/11/2016 - 10:02
          +8

          Exactly why I built in a hatred of Apple products in my kids at an early age. They cant stand the restrictions and guffaw at their friends for not being able to play League of Legends or CS:GO or any other new release games. PC Master Race Forever

        • jenkemjunkie on 29/11/2016 - 10:54
          -6

          @Bugsarse:

          My nephew at 8 has gained a pretty good understanding of assembly to decompile and crack software. He uses a Mac. He also has a triple boot setup so he could play CS GO if he wants but he is not really into games. He never whinges about what he's got. He'd rather try and crack my network than play games on my PC when he's here. He was using a little Inspiron I have Kali running on to do it.

          Seems you've only taught your kid what being restrictive and bias is instead of encouraging creativity to get around restrictions that aren't really there.

          If you think value from a computer comes from specs to play games then you're no different from the parents and kids you chastise for having a Mac because of 'marketing'. Playing games is straight up consumerism.

        • T1OOO on 30/11/2016 - 00:31

          @bathuu:

          Teens ? Dude I want a
          Mac too. That or the zen book 3!

        • T1OOO on 30/11/2016 - 00:32
          -3

          @jenkemjunkie:

          One word for you mate: LOL

        • jenkemjunkie on 30/11/2016 - 09:04
          +2

          @T1OOO:

          That turns out to be 3 words: LOL!

        • [Deactivated] on 30/11/2016 - 11:16
          +1

          @Bugsarse: But CSGO and League of Legends can be played 100 FPS easily on a Mac o.o

        • Velathial on 01/12/2016 - 08:59

          @SeriouslyJk:

          Just have to pay the equivalent of a alienware laptop to get the game to run.

        • no not me on 02/12/2016 - 06:41
          +1

          @Bugsarse: you gave examples of games available on both platforms.

          I think building a PC that is compatible with macOS is the most ideal setup. I've got a 4790K and GTX 970 running the latest macOS 10.12.1. In fact, it's somehow smoother than the Windows 10 installation on another drive in the same computer. What really irks me if the update issue I had on Windows for weeks that was caused by Games for Windows Live that caused update fail boot loops (meaning 10 minutes to cold boot to desktop).

          You'd be better of teaching your children how to use each platform as having a wide range of knowledge is better than closing your eyes and thinking one platform is the be all and end all. I used to hate apple and their software until 2013 when I bought a MacBook after three failed laptops over three years. Bought a second hand MacBook Pro which has been going strong ever since. I also prefer the OS now and experience most of my issues in Windows.

        • PiratePete1911 on 02/12/2016 - 15:36

          @Bugsarse:

          Ironically Microsoft are the ones actively trying to lock down the PC gaming market currently. GFWL and now the Windows Store are the future Microsoft wants.

    • pennae on 29/11/2016 - 23:33

      iMovie and GarageBand are also excellent for school projects.

  • playswithfire on 28/11/2016 - 17:31
    +10

    I'm currently fighting a battle with my daughter about getting a newer iPhone "because everyone else has one". She didn't believe me that her hand-me-down iPhone 4S is still a good phone, she considered it to be a piece of crap - until someone stole it from her at a party a few weeks back. Find-my-iphone tracked its location down but it had been outside in the rain for a few hours by the time we got to it, and won't turn on again. Now she's got my wifes hand-me-down iPhone 4…

    Chances are the "because everyone else has one" bit is a status symbol thing - even if you get her a technically better laptop of a different brand, she's still going to hate it "because everyone else has one". This will then lead to her treating it like crap…

    As for a good spec laptop at that price point - you're a few days too late to ask that question! The XPS laptop in this deal would've been perfect https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/278070 - I'd suggest waiting another week for the next eBay 20% off deal and look at an Asus Zenbook or Dell XPS…

    • mbck on 28/11/2016 - 17:56
      +3

      Yap, it's all about the status. Think back when you were kids. You want to be with the cool kids, you want to be with the 'in' things. Now I cbf keeping up with the blablabla.

      I'm sure you can still give he something else, she won't be happy, but kids always find reasons to blame something on the parents. (Not all, but i've seen some who says the silliest things).

      • playswithfire on 28/11/2016 - 18:03
        +15

        Think back when you were kids.

        No matter what I begged/borrowed/stole to have the latest cool/awesome thing, I was never in with the in-crowd. It took a long time for me to understand that if a group of people only liked me because of what I had/wore etc then that group of people were not really going to ever be my real friends…

        • mbck on 28/11/2016 - 18:44
          +2

          Now you know, but as a kid, good luck trying to explain that. It usually does the usual"but mummmm, or but dadddd".

          In any case, we're not helping op with this discussion.

        • playswithfire on 28/11/2016 - 21:53

          haha, no we're not really are we!

        • playswithfire on 03/12/2016 - 09:07

          @mbck: and now she's broken the iphone 4.

          brick phone with buttons for her.

        • mbck on 03/12/2016 - 10:07

          @playswithfire:

          well, so long as it was accidental (and not intentional, so she gets another….iphone 4 hahahah joke's on her).

          maybe get an ultra protective case that's 5cm thick? (or an otterbox).

        • playswithfire on 06/12/2016 - 22:00

          @mbck: i don't know - i wasn't there.

          thinking a brick phone with buttons.

    • PlasticSpaceman on 29/11/2016 - 07:54

      Other than the rain, snap. I got a new iPhone 5s for my daughter ($360 or so most Tuesdays online from Telstra). For same price could get a better android mobile, but that's not the point for a teenage girl!

      • playswithfire on 29/11/2016 - 08:44
        +4

        I gave my youngest daughter the option of a third-hand iPhone 5 or a brand new Sony Xperia XA. She wants the iPhone 5…

        • xoom on 29/11/2016 - 09:54
          +3

          because iphone. sony xperia XA is not an iphone.

          see. logic.

          /sarcasm

    • georgesc on 29/11/2016 - 13:18
      +6

      My 10yo girl wants a iphone because all the fancy girls have one, just like in your case
      gave her a Galaxy S5 and told her that if she wants an Iphone so bad, she is welcomed to pay it for herself as nobody is stopping her.
      same with the laptop, gave her a new lenovo, if she wants something else, she can go a work for it.

      sometimes you just have to be stern, helps them grow a spine, some character and a sense of independence; and not end up being just somebody to be married off and to be maintained financially.

      • centrelink on 29/11/2016 - 16:01

        Wow you are generous to still give your daughter tech. I would just given them nothing and eat boring food everyday, just to show her a piece of my mind.

        • carwashhair on 30/11/2016 - 05:56
          +13

          I would just given them nothing and eat boring food everyday, just to show her a piece of my mind.

          Username checks out…

      • Blitzfx on 29/11/2016 - 20:04

        Wow an S5? That's going to be stolen so fast if she doesn't take care of it.

        Spoiled kids these days. I didn't get my first nokia brick until highschool and my first laptop until university.
        Back then, carrying 2x 20c was the thing for emergency calls at a payphone.

      • itbargainhunter on 29/11/2016 - 22:25

        be careful with that approach. Kids tends to "misplaced" or "damage" gears that they don't like.

    • [Deactivated] on 30/11/2016 - 11:18

      Using an iPhone 4 in this day and age Jesus Christ..

      • playswithfire on 30/11/2016 - 17:50

        Truly I am a terrible parent.

        • [Deactivated] on 30/11/2016 - 18:32

          I'd rather use a Nokia brick. At least I'd have good battery life!

  • shaybisc on 28/11/2016 - 17:42
    +3

    What was the laptop Rudd gave all the kiddies? A cheap, tough Windows Lenovo wasn't it? I'm surprised I didn't hear the collective hissy fit when that outrage happened.

    • miicah on 29/11/2016 - 16:43
      +1

      Acer and they were far from "tough" lol

      • blurrybird on 29/11/2016 - 18:21

        Lenovo S10-3 or Acer Aspire 753.

        We still have 200 753s in our fleet after donating 600+ to the scrap heap.

    • Faulty on 29/11/2016 - 18:20
      +4

      We got the Lenovo X100e I think, with an Intel Celeron, 2GB Ram, and a 60GB HDD I think. It was tough enough to endure 4 years of highschool roughness. And its still working 5 years later (with a cheapo ssd).

    • User166092 on 01/12/2016 - 01:49

      They took longer to boot up then it did to finish the class.

  • Diji1 on 28/11/2016 - 18:11
    +14

    Now I could go and buy a Macbook Air 11" for ~$1200 (1.6GHz/4GB/128GB), or I could use that $1200 and presumably get a lot more bang for my buck in some other brand Windows 10 beastie.

    So you plan on buying the laptop you want for some reason.

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