Good news: an upgrade can be cheaper than you think if you know where to look. Here are 3 ways to get a legal discount on your purchase of this well-reviewed edition of Microsoft’s flagship operating system.

• Option 1: Get college student pricing

  67% Discount

  Are you a full-time or part-time university student? If so, you qualify to purchase Windows 7 Professional Upgrade directly from Microsoft for only $65.

  This means that if you’re a college student running Windows XP or Windows Vista on your computer, you can upgrade to Windows 7 Professional (which is a higher-end version than Home Premium) at a 67% discount.

  

• Option 2: Buy the Family Pack

  58% Discount

  If you have multiple computers at home that are running Windows XP or Windows Vista, and you’d like to upgrade all of them to Windows 7, then the Windows 7 Family Pack is probably what you’re looking for.

  The Family Pack lets you upgrade 3 computers to Windows 7 Home Premium for only $150 rather than paying the usual upgrade price (which could total up to $360 for three upgrades).

  

• Option 3: Buy the System Builder version

  38-50% Discount

  The options I’ve mentioned so far have been ways of getting a discount on Windows 7 upgrades, which require you to have Windows XP or Windows Vista already installed on your computer. If you’re looking for a full version (non-upgrade version) of Windows 7, the System Builder discs are the cheapest way to get it.

  Windows 7 System Builder discs are discounted copies of the operating system that Microsoft usually sells to companies that build computers, such as your local computer store. The big difference between the System Builder editions and the regular editions is that System Builder discs come without the fancy packaging and without technical support. That is why Microsoft offers these discs for such a low price: once they’ve sold it, they don’t have to provide any customer service by phone or email. (But they will still provide patches and security fixes of course.)

  Microsoft is fine with you buying these discs as long as you don’t come running to them if you have a problem with your computer. If you’re okay with going to someone else for tech support (like your local Best Buy or computer store), then you can save yourself a lot of money by buying these versions of Windows 7.

  $200 $120	$300 $150	$320 $200

But getting your own URL isn’t as expensive as it might sound. In fact, you can set up a website with your own domain name for only $5.21 per month.

There are hundreds of ways to make your own website. The way that I’m going to show you is what I believe to be the cheapest, fastest, easiest, and overall best way to do it.

1 Buy Web Hosting & a URL

Every website is stored on a computer somewhere in the world. These computers have to be kept on all the time so that people can access the websites 24/7. To make your own website, the first thing you’ll need to do is pay a company to “host” it for you.

Just having a website hosted somewhere isn’t enough. You also need to buy a domain name (www.johnlamansky.com, for example) so that people can type it into their address bar and get to your website.

There are many companies that let you purchase web hosting and domain names, but the company I use and recommend is HostGator. I recommend them because of their cheap prices and excellent customer service.

2 Install a CMS

Once you’ve purchased web hosting, the next thing to do is install software that will let you add content to your website. This is called a “Content Management System,” or CMS. One of the world’s most popular content management systems — and the one that I personally recommend due to its ease-of-use — is called WordPress. Here’s how to install it:

1. When you purchased a web hosting plan from HostGator, they should have sent you an email with login information for cPanelX (your website’s control panel). Log in to cPanelX with the username and password they gave you.
2. Once you’ve logged into cPanelX, click “Fantastico Deluxe” under the “Software/Services” section.
3. Click “WordPress” under the “Blogs” section on the left.
4. Click the “New Installation” link.
5. Leave the “Install in directory” field blank.
   Type a username and a secure password into the “Admin access data” section.
   Enter your name into the “Admin nickname” field and your email address into the “Admin e-mail” box.
   Type your new website’s name into the “Site name” field and a sentence-long description of your site into the “Description” field.
6. Click the “Install WordPress” button.
7. When the next screen appears, click the “Finish Installation” button.
8. On the installation success screen, make a note of the admin area URL that appears after the phrase “Bookmark this!”

3 Pick a Design

1. Enter the admin area URL that you noted at the end of the previous section into your browser’s address bar.
2. Log in with the username and password that you specified during the WordPress installation.
3. Click the “Appearance” menu item on the left.
4. Click the “Install Themes” tab.
5. Use the “Feature Filter” to browse through various “themes” (website designs) or click the “Featured” link up on top to see some recommended designs.
6. When you find a theme you like, click “Install.”
7. Click the “Install Now” button.
8. Click the “Activate” link.

You might want to try out a few themes to see which suits you best.

4 Add Content

The next step is to add content to your brand-new website. Your WordPress website supports two types of content:

• Posts (i.e. blog postings)
• Pages (i.e. regular webpages)

Go to your website’s WordPress admin area URL (which you noted at the end of step 2). Hover over either “Posts” or “Pages” on the left and click “Add New” from the menu.

From the resulting screen, you can type in a post/page title, use the editor to format your content, click the “Upload/Insert” button to add pictures, etc.

At some point, click “Posts” and “Pages” on the menu and delete the sample “Hello World” post and the sample “About” page. (Or, if you want an “About” page, you can edit it instead of deleting it.)

By default, WordPress will show your site’s latest blog posts when someone types in your domain name. If you don’t want a blog on your website at this time, here’s how to disable it:

1. If you haven’t already created a page that you’d like to use as a homepage, hover over “Pages” on the menu and click “Add New” to go to the page creator where you can add content and publish the page.
2. Hover over “Settings” on the menu and click “Reading”
3. Under “Front page displays” select “A static page”
4. From the “Front page” dropdown, select the page that you would like to use as a homepage.

5 Add Features

WordPress supports add-on programs called “plugins.” You can use plugins to add features to your site. For example, if you want to sell products on your site, you can add an e-commerce plugin that will give you a shopping cart. You can install an SEO plugin that will help your website rank higher in search engines.

To add a plugin, hover over “Plugins” on the menu of your site’s admin area and click “Add New.” You can then use the links and/or search box to find plugins. When you’ve found a plugin you like, click “Install Now.”

• Option 1: Buy Student & Teacher Edition

  80% Discount

  If you’re a primary/secondary school student, a homeschooled student, a college student, or an educator, you qualify to purchase Adobe Photoshop Extended for only $199 instead of the normal $999 price. (Yes, Photoshop Extended — the high-end version.)

  It’s the exact same software as the full-priced Photoshop Extended; the only “catch” is that once you make the purchase, you have to send Adobe some proof that you’re a student, such as a copy of a report card or a student ID, for example.

  	Windows:	$199	$249
  	Mac OS X:	$199	$249

• Option 2: Buy a subscription

  $49 Per Month

  
  If you can’t afford Photoshop’s hefty upfront price tag, try Adobe’s new subscription pricing. For only $79/month (or $49/month if you buy a whole year), Creative Cloud gives you access to not only Photoshop CS6 Extended, but all of Adobe’s Creative Suite 6 software.

  Creative Cloud gives you the same desktop version of Photoshop that you’d get if you bought it as a download or a disc (it’s real Photoshop, not an online version). Just subscribe to Creative Cloud, download and install Photoshop (and whatever other Adobe CS6 programs you want), and you’re good to go. You can keep using Photoshop for as long as you’re subscribed to Creative Cloud.

  Extra Discount: If you’re a student or educator, you get Creative Cloud for even less: only $29 per month when you purchase one year of access.

  

• Option 3: Buy the basic version

  Under $100

  If you’re an enthusiast who’s dabbling in photography or digital image editing and who doesn’t need the industry-level features of the full version of Photoshop, the basic version known as Photoshop Elements may provide all the functionality you require.

  Photoshop Elements is the consumer-oriented, low-end version of Photoshop that lets you edit photos and create digital images with a selection of tools that should be more than enough for the typical home user.

  I personally find that Photoshop Elements is enough for my needs. For instance, I used Photoshop Elements to do all the graphic editing work for this blog post (making the buttons, resizing the product pictures, etc.)

  

• Bonus Tip: Use the free online version

  Free but basic

  If you’re a home user who just wants to tweak photos, the full-fledged version of Photoshop is definitely way more than you need. In fact, you can probably just get by with the Adobe’s free, online photo editing tool, known as the Photoshop.com Express Editor.

• Bonus Tip: Use a free alternative

  Photoshop isn’t the only graphic editing program out there. If you just need a graphic editing program and don’t need Photoshop in particular, you might want to check out two free alternatives called GIMP and Paint.NET.

The steps are different depending on whether you’re using a compact laptop keyboard or a full-sized “desktop keyboard” that’s hooked up to your computer.

Instructions for Laptop PC Keyboards

Here’s how to insert music notes using the keyboard that’s built into your laptop. Hold down the Alt key and the Fn key, press the letter J, and then press the letter L or the letter U, depending on which music note you want.

If the first sets of keys don’t work, try using the key combinations that use the blue number keys. Note that these are blue number keys. Pressing the regular black or white number keys on the top of your keyboard won’t work. Only laptops have these blue numbers. If you look at your keyboard closely you should see the blue numbers printed on top of some of the keys on your laptop keyboard.

Instructions for Regular PC Keyboards

Here’s how to insert music notes using a regular, full-sized keyboard that’s plugged in your computer.

Hold down the Alt key and then type in 13 or 14 on your keyboard’s right-hand number pad, depending on which music note you want.

You have to push the numbers on the numeric keypad on the right-hand-side of your keyboard. If you push the numbers on the top of the keyboard it won’t work.

The instructions not only work with Facebook, but with any other website or software program as well. Enjoy your music notes!

To open Task Scheduler, click the Start button, type in “Task Scheduler,” and click it when it appears in the results list.

Although Task Scheduler provides the same functionality as Scheduled Tasks, the interface is much different.

To add a task, click “Create Basic Task,” which can be found in the “Actions” pane on the right or on the “Action” menu.

1 Where to Shop

To ensure you get the best deal, you should shop around with multiple companies. If you’re using a modern web browser that supports tabs, you can open up multiple websites in different tabs and comparison-shop at multiple sites simultaneously.

In general, there are two categories of places where you can buy a laptop:

1. Directly from the company
   Buying a computer directly from its manufacturer often provides you with the option of customizing the computer to your specifications. Here are several computer manufacturers that let you customize and purchase a laptop from their site:

   Apple

   Dell

   HP

   Sony

   Toshiba

2. From a reseller
   You can also buy laptops for college students from online resellers as well as “offline,” “brick-and-mortar” stores. You can’t customize laptops that you buy from resellers because they come pre-configured. Here are some examples of online and offline companies that sell laptops made by various computer manufacturers:

   Amazon (online only)

   Best Buy

   Newegg (online only)

Refurbished
As you shop, check out each vendor’s refurbished department or outlet center. You may be able to snag a deal on a lightly-used laptop.

Top Brands
As you’re shopping, you’ll come across many different brands of laptops. Every year PC World magazine does a reliability/service survey to determine the tech brands that its readers have had the best experience with. Here are the top 5 laptop brands for 2010:

1. Apple
2. Asus
3. Toshiba
4. MSI
5. Sony

2 Screen Size

As you’re shopping, one of the first options you’ll likely be presented with is the laptop’s screen size. A laptop’s screen size is measured diagonally and can range from 5″ to 18″+.

The screen size affects a variety of factors, such as:

1. How much the screen can show at a time
   A bigger screen can support a larger “resolution,” which is how many pixels the screen shows. More pixels means the screen can display more text at a time and can display photos and videos in greater detail.
2. How heavy the laptop is
   A bigger screen means a bigger laptop, which means more weight. All else equal, laptops with smaller screen sizes will be more portable — an important consideration when buying a laptop for a college student.
3. 

   Keyboard of a laptop with a 15" screen

   How big the keyboard is
   A bigger screen means a wider laptop, which means a more spacious keyboard with larger keys. Having a comfortable keyboard size can be particularly important to college students who will be typing constantly for at least an hour at a time taking class notes.

   Note: A major downside to laptops with small screens is that they have cramped keyboards. This can pose ergonomic and comfort problems, especially for college students with larger hands or fingers. Before purchasing a laptop 10″ or smaller, I recommend trying one out at a computer store to get a feel for whether you’ll be comfortable using a small keyboard for prolonged periods.

4. What it can do
   A bigger screen means a bigger laptop, which means more room for additional/better computer parts that make the laptop more powerful.
   • Laptops with small screens (10″ and smaller) can only handle basic tasks like email, web browsing, and word processing. These basic, inexpensive computers are called “netbooks.”
   • Laptops with 11-15″ screens are generally considered “all-purpose” laptops.
   • Laptops with big screens (usually 17″ and larger) can be powerful enough to replace a desktop computer (which is why they’re often called “desktop replacement” laptops).
5. 

   As the chart indicates, 15 inches is a "sweet spot" for PCs, as 15-inch laptops tend to be cheaper than laptops with similar screen sizes. (Prices as of June 2011.)

   How expensive it is
   Knowing how screen size is related to price can help you with your buying decision.

   For example, if you’re on a tight budget, you may want to lean toward 10″ laptops, as these are much cheaper (due to having less functionality, as explained above).

   In the all-purpose category, 15″ tends to be a “sweet spot,” as 15″ laptops can be $100 cheaper than a similar 14″ or 16″ laptop.

As you choose the screen size of your laptop, here are some additional factors to keep in mind:

1. Backpack support
   In my experience, most backpacks with laptop compartments only fit screen sizes up to 15″. Check to make sure your college backpack will support the screen size you’re considering.
2. Desk size
   Remember that you may be using your laptop in a classroom with small desks. Having a 17″ laptop can be cumbersome in those situations.

My recommendations: Because 15″ laptops have sufficiently-large keyboards, tend to be cheaper than other screen sizes, and fit most backpacks and desks, I would recommend a 15″ laptop for most college students. Students should get a 10″ if they’re on a tight budget, need only basic functionality, and are okay with a tiny keyboard.

3 Operating System

Practically all laptops will have one of these 3 operating systems:

1. Windows
2. Mac OS X
3. Linux (including variants like Chrome OS and Android)

If you buy a laptop from Apple, your computer will have Mac OS X. If you buy your college laptop from a different company, it’ll have either Windows or Linux.

Windows is the world’s most popular operating system and is used on more than 80% of computers. If you buy a Windows laptop, the best edition of Windows for a college student is Windows 7 Home Premium.

Some computer vendors may try to upsell you to Windows 7 Professional or Windows 7 Ultimate, but unless your university requires them (due to having a “domain” network, for example), these editions probably don’t offer any extra features that the college student will need.

If your university does require Windows 7 Professional or Windows 7 Ultimate, don’t buy it with your computer. It’s probably cheaper to buy Windows 7 Home Premium and then purchase a Windows 7 Professional Upgrade from the Microsoft Student site. It costs $65 as of this writing, while a similar upgrade from Dell will run you $130.

Rule of thumb: If you’re getting a Windows laptop, get Windows 7 Home Premium unless your university requires Windows 7 Professional. If it does, you can save $65 by buying the Professional upgrade from the Microsoft Student site instead of getting it with your laptop.

For more details on the various editions of Windows 7, go to Microsoft’s Compare Windows page and click the “Feature comparison” tab.

Mac OS X and Linux are less popular than Windows. This is both good and bad news. The good news is that hackers don’t write as many viruses for these operating systems because fewer people use them. The bad news is that you may run into software that you’d like to use but only works on Windows.

Chrome OS is a new Linux variant introduced summer 2011. Before you buy a laptop with Chrome OS, you need to realize that “Chromebooks,” as they’re called, are Internet-only machines. They’re designed for accessing the Internet only, nothing else. Instead of using traditional software, Chromebooks use “web apps” for tasks like writing documents. While Chromebooks may work for some students, I’d personally prefer a laptop that can access the Internet but also run regular software if I need it to.

As you choose an operating system for your college laptop, keep these additional factors in mind:

1. What software or games do you plan to use on your computer, and what operating systems can they run on?
2. Does your university have laptop specification requirements? If so, what operating systems are on the list?
3. What operating systems does your school’s IT office support? If you ever need help with your computer, will they be able to provide support for your operating system? All university tech support will provide support for Windows, and most will support Mac OS X, but support for Linux/Android/Chrome OS will be much more scarce.
4. Will you be taking any classes that need you to run special software on your laptop? If so, what operating system is required?
5. Do any of your textbooks come with CDs that need a certain operating system to run?

Tip: Purchase OS recovery media if possible. Some computer manufacturers will charge you extra for it, but it’s well worth it. OS recovery media is a DVD that’ll let you (or a tech-savvy friend) repair or reinstall your operating system in the event of a major crash.

4 Processor

The processor is the brains of the computer. A faster processor lets the computer process data faster, which often translates into a faster computer. (I say “often” because if the rest of your computer’s parts are slow, then the processor still has to wait on those other parts to get things done, regardless of how fast it is.)

When you’re shopping for a college laptop, chances are you’ll run across processors made by two companies: Intel and AMD. Each company makes a variety of processor families.

This handy chart gives you an approximate overview of how the various processor families compare to each other. Admittedly, this comparison is overly simplistic, but it should give you a general idea of today’s processor lineup.

Most Powerful			Least Powerful
Power Usage (heavy media/games)	Typical Usage (light media/games)		Basic Usage (primarily email/web/documents)
Core i7 (2-4 cores)	Core i5 (2 cores)	Core i3 (2 cores)	Pentium (2 cores)	Celeron (1-2 cores)	Atom (1-2 cores)
A8 (4 cores)	A6 (4 cores)	A4 (2 cores)	E2 (2 cores)	E Series (1-2 cores)	C Series (1-2 cores)
Most Expensive			Least Expensive

Within each processor family, there are various processor models. For example, there are dozens of processor models within the Core i7 family. Although there are many variables that differentiate processor models, these are the two most important variables you should consider:

1. How many cores does it have?
   Think of a “core” as a “brain.” Typically, each core can handle one task at a time. The number of cores determines how many things your computer can do at once. All else equal, a dual-core processor (a processor with two cores) can handle twice as much as a single-core processor.
2. How fast is each core?
   The “clock speed” of each core determines how fast each core can accomplish a task (or “thread”). The clock speed is measured in gigahertz (GHz), for example, “1.4GHz.” A higher clock speed means faster cores. So, for example, a Core i5 2.6GHz would be slightly faster than a Core i5 2.5GHz.

5 Memory

A computer’s memory (or RAM) is its “short-term memory” that stores what you’re currently working on. The more memory your college laptop has, the more data it can handle at a time. The amount of memory in a computer is measured in gigabytes (GB).

Here are my memory quantity recommendations:

Here are some additional notes to keep in mind:

• DDR3 memory is newer/better than DDR2 memory.
• 32-bit operating systems can only use up to 3.25 GB or memory; anything more than that will go unused. If you have a 32-bit operating system, don’t get more than 3GB. If the chart above indicates you need more than 3GB, get a 64-bit operating system.

6 Storage Drive

The storage drive is the “long-term” memory of your laptop. Not only will laptops for college students need space to store class notes, but likely audio-recorded lectures and photos/videos as well.

Here are 4 factors to consider:

1. Storage Capacity
   This is how much data the hard drive can hold. Storage capacity is measured in gigabytes (GB). 1 GB can store roughly 300 photos or 10 minutes of video. In determining how much space you need, you should set aside 30 GB for your operating system and programs.
2. HDD or SSD?
   Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) use magnetic platters to store your data, while Solid State Drives (SSDs) have no moving parts. SSDs are very fast and are more likely to survive if you drop your laptop, but are very expensive and come in smaller capacities than HDDs. If you don’t plan on having much data to store and can get a good deal on an SSD, I’d say go with it; otherwise, stick with an HDD.
3. Rotational Speed
   Rotational speed only applies to Hard Disk Drives (which use magnetic platters). The faster the rotational speed, the faster the magnetic platters spin, which means the faster your laptop can get to your data. For laptops, the two options are 5400 RPM or 7200 RPM. I recommend going with 7200.
4. Head Parking
   If you drop a laptop with a Hard Disk Drive, automatic head-parking technology will detect the fall and quickly adjust the hard drive’s moving parts to minimize damage. I’d recommend getting this upgrade if it’s offered. (If you’re getting a Solid State Drive, you don’t have to worry about this since SSDs don’t have any moving parts.)

7 Disc Drive

When shopping for your college laptop, you’ll likely run across 3 different types of disc drives:

1. DVD Burners (also known as DVD±RW drives, CD/DVD burners, SuperMulti DVD burners, SuperDrives, etc.)
2. BD Combos (also known as a BD-ROM drive or a “Blu-ray player + DVD burner”)
3. BD Writers (also known as BD-RE drives, Blu-ray Triple Writers, etc.)

This table shows the functionality of each of these types of disc drives:

8 Video Card

The GPU (graphics processing unit) generates what you see on screen. There are two types of GPUs:

1. Integrated graphics are built into the motherboard or processor and can handle everyday graphics output.
2. Dedicated video cards are add-on cards that replace or supplement integrated graphics, and provide the graphics output power needed for heavy 3D gaming, video editing, etc. A disadvantage of dedicated video cards is that they usually use more power than integrated graphics, thus reducing your laptop’s battery life.

My recommendations: Get a dedicated video card if you plan on using your college laptop for heavy 3D gaming, video editing, or other graphics-heavy work. Otherwise, stick with the cheaper integrated graphics option.

9 Battery

A laptop with a 9-cell battery

The more “cells” a battery has, the more power the battery can hold. When you’re shopping for your college laptop, you may have the option of upgrading your battery.

A larger-cell battery may “jut out” as illustrated in the picture to the right. But that may not be a bad thing: the larger battery lifts the rest of the laptop off your lap or desk, providing some additional room for air circulation.

In addition to having the option of increasing the capacity of your primary battery, you may have the option to buy a secondary battery that you can swap out if your primary battery dies.

Here are some factors to keep in mind as you assess battery options for your college laptop:

1. What is the estimated battery life of the laptop(s) you’re considering, and by how much would a battery upgrade extend that?
2. Do your university’s classrooms have outlets so you can plug in during a class if your battery runs low? Do all classrooms have them or just some?
3. Do you have room in your backpack for your power cord and/or do you want to hassle with it?
4. What’s the longest amount of time you’ll be away from your dorm room or other housing?

My recommendations: Since an upgrade from a 6-cell to a 9-cell battery (for example) usually only costs around $40, I’d go for it unless you absolutely can’t stand having the battery jut out in the back. I would usually discourage getting a second battery, as I expect most college students won’t be away from an outlet for long enough to justify the cost.

10 Ethernet & Wireless

Here are the 4 primary connectivity technologies that come with laptops today:

1. Ethernet
   An ethernet port on your college laptop will let your computer plug in to the Internet using a cable. If your dorm room or other housing only offers ethernet Internet, having that port will come in handy! If you get a laptop without an ethernet port, I recommend having a USB-to-ethernet adapter on hand unless you have a 3G subscription that gives you continual wireless Internet access.
2. Wifi
   Wifi is a must on today’s connected campuses. Practically all laptops today come with built-in Wifi. Most laptops today come with Wireless-N technology, though you may find a few stragglers that still have the older Wireless-G variety. Either one should be able to connect to your university’s network.
3. 3G or 4G
   Some laptops (specifically netbooks and Chromebooks) may come with 3G or 4G technology that lets you access the Internet over a cell network, meaning you can use the Internet anywhere you can use a cellphone. 4G is newer and faster than 3G, but it’s available in fewer areas.
   Note: In order to use 3G/4G Internet, you need to have a laptop that supports it and you need a data plan with a cellphone company like Verizon. Some 3G/4G laptops come with a data plan and some don’t. If you buy a 3G/4G laptop but not a data plan, you won’t be able to use the Internet any more than you can use a cellphone without a cell plan.

   As with a cell plan, you’ll almost always need to pay for a data plan monthly. This monthly cost can add up, and will probably put 3G/4G out of the reach of most college students’ budgets.

   The primary benefit of 3G/4G is being able to access the Internet in places where neither ethernet nor Wifi options are available. But since most campuses today have Wifi connectivity, you probably won’t need 3G/4G unless you’re in off-campus housing that doesn’t have any other way to access the Internet.

4. Bluetooth
   Bluetooth lets your computer wirelessly connect to nearby devices (unlike the other technologies listed here, Bluetooth is not used for connecting to the Internet).

   I suspect that college students will have two main uses for Bluetooth:

   1. Listening to music with wireless Bluetooth headphones
   2. Transferring photos from their cellphone to their computer

   If you don’t envision using Bluetooth for these or other scenarios, you probably don’t need it. If you don’t get built-in Bluetooth and decide you need it later, you can always buy a USB Bluetooth adapter.

11 Resolution & Aspect Ratio

• The resolution of your laptop screen indicates the maximum number of pixels your screen can display horizontally and vertically. A larger maximum resolution means your screen can display more textual data at a time, and can display photos and videos with more detail, but it also means everything will be smaller on your screen.

  Be aware that when you pay for a resolution upgrade, you’re paying to make everything on your screen smaller so you can fit more on at a time.

• The aspect ratio of your laptop screen is the ratio or horizontal pixels to vertical pixels. Chances are your laptop’s aspect ratio will be 16:10 or 16:9. The selling point for 16:9 is that 16:9 happens to be the aspect ratio for HDTV (high-definition TV episodes) and HD camera/camcorder footage. If you get a screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio, high-def video will fill up the screen perfectly when played in fullscreen mode. However, the video content on many DVDs and Blu-ray discs does not use a 16:9 aspect ratio.

  My recommendations: Few DVDs and not all Blu-ray discs will play in 16:9, so don’t pay extra for 16:9 with the intent of a better movie-watching experience. Only pay extra for 16:9 if you’ll be watching a lot of fullscreen HD TV episodes or HD video from your camcorder and you can’t stand black bars on the top and bottom of your screen. For most college students, I’d say stick with the cheapest option.

12 Office Software

Office software is crucial for the college student. It lets students create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.

Warning: Lots of laptops today come with Microsoft Office 2010 Starter. However, Office Starter won’t cut it for a college student laptop, for one important reason: it doesn’t let you insert footnotes in Word. If you’re going to be writing college papers, you need a word processor that supports footnotes.

Rule of thumb: If you’re a college student, never buy Microsoft Office with your laptop, not even the Home and Student edition. There are cheaper options and alternatives.

1. If you’re on a tight budget, download LibreOffice. It’s free, it has the important features students need, and it can open and save to Microsoft file formats.
2. Your university may have a special agreement with Microsoft that lets your university sell Office at highly-discounted prices. Check with your university’s bookstore.
3. Microsoft sells Office University 2010 to college students for only $100. It’s cheaper than Office Home and Student and it comes with more Office programs.

These 3 options can help a college student get their hands on an office suite for much less money than getting it with their laptop. (But if you’re not a college student, buying Office with your laptop may be your cheapest option.)

13 Security Software

If you’re shopping for a Windows laptop, chances are the store or website you’re shopping at will try to get you to buy security software. On top of the initial purchase price, these security suites require an annual subscription fee.

What those sales clerks and websites won’t tell you is that Microsoft makes a 100% free antivirus product called Microsoft Security Essentials. Just download and install it on your laptop after purchase.

Rule of thumb: You don’t need to buy security software when you purchase your college laptop. Mac and Chromebook laptops don’t need it, and Windows laptops can use Microsoft security software for free.

14 Miscellaneous

One extra feature you shouldn’t forget:

• All laptops for college students should have a webcam and microphone so you can Skype your family back home!

While some upgrades are good to have, you’ll also likely be presented with a ton of upgrades you don’t need, especially if you’re shopping for a college laptop online. This is a non-exclusive list of extras that you can, in my opinion, skip:

• Multi-touch
  Tablets like the iPad have made multi-touch screens (screens that let you “click” things by touching them on the screen) the “cool thing” to have.

  I would discourage getting a multi-touch screen on your laptop, for these reasons:

  • Using the touch screen means holding your hand up to the screen to touch things. If you do that for long periods of time, your arm will get tired, and eventually you’ll fall back to using the keyboard and trackpad. Unlike tablets, laptops just aren’t designed for comfortable touch-screen use.
  • Every time you touch the screen, you’ll leave fingerprint oils behind. With phones and tablets this isn’t a big deal because you can just use your shirt to wipe off the screen — but try doing that with a laptop.

  In my opinion, the impracticality isn’t worth the cost.

• Facial recognition
  Some laptops give you the option of using your face to log in to your computer instead of having to remember passwords. I’m no visual-algorithms expert, so don’t quote me on this, but couldn’t someone just hold up a picture of your face to the camera? My advice: forgo facial recognition and stick with using strong passwords.
• Fingerprint recognition
  Some laptops have finger-print readers by the keyboard that let you log in with your fingerprint instead of using passwords. Your results may vary, but in my experience, I’ve had trouble getting laptop fingerprint readers to recognize my fingerprint, and I’ve often triggered the system by brushing the reader with my wrist while typing. I personally avoid fingerprint readers and stick with passwords.
• 3D
  Laptop upgrades that let you watch 3D content are another “cool” feature that I’d skip. Chances are, 99% of college students don’t own any 3D movies and don’t own 3D cameras or camcorders. A 3D upgrade will make more sense in the future when 3D content becomes more widespread, but right now 3D media is too scarce to justify the cost of getting support for it on your laptop. Unless you really, really want to look at your Nintendo 3DS photos on your notebook, I’d pass on paying for the 3D upgrade.

15 Backup Solution

The last thing you want is to be stuck without class notes in the event your laptop is lost, stolen, or crashed the week before finals. Backup is a must. (However, if you have a Chromebook, it doesn’t need to be backed up because Chromebooks store all your data on the Internet.)

The two best backup solutions for a college student are an external hard drive or an online backup service.

Backup speed is how long it takes to backup. Restore speed is how long it takes to get up-and-running again. Off-site is whether your backup is stored in a remote location away from the original copy of your data.

Here are the two options in detail:

External hard drive An external hard drive is a hard drive that you plug in to your computer. Your files are backed up to the external hard drive via a USB cable. It’s faster to backup to an external hard drive and restore your files off it because it’s hooked up directly to your laptop. A backup loses some of its effectiveness if it’s physically located next to the original copy. For example, if someone were to break into your housing and steal your laptop, they could easily steal your backup drive as well, whereas with an online backup solution that couldn’t happen. An external hard drive has little to no automation, so you have to remember to do it. If your laptop and your external backup drive both support USB 3.0, they’ll communicate at USB 3.0 speeds. Otherwise they’ll communicate at slower USB 2.0 speeds. If your laptop supports USB 3.0, look for a backup drive that supports it as well. Mac OS X and Windows 7 Home Premium both come with backup software that’ll copy your files to your external drive. Tip: Although you may have the option of ordering an external hard drive bundled with your laptop, you may be able to buy it cheaper separately. Don’t assume that you’ll get a better deal on the hard drive just because it’s bundled with the laptop. When shopping for an external hard drive, get one that can store at least as many gigabytes as your college laptop’s internal storage drive.

Online Backup Service An online backup service will backup your files over the Internet to a secure online server. When you sign up for the service, you install a program that monitors your files for changes and then backs up the files that have changed. Backing up happens automatically in the background. Online backup services charge by the month, so it’s cheaper in the short-run but more expensive in the long-run than an external hard drive. Online backup is slower than backing up to an external hard drive because your files have to travel across the Internet instead of just across your desk. Mozy and Carbonite are two popular online backup options. If you’ll only be backing up documents and text files (i.e. no photos, videos, or music) go for Mozy, since you can backup 2GB of data for free with them. 2GB can store a lot of documents, but not many photos! If you have photos/videos/music to backup in addition to documents, go for Carbonite, since they offer unlimited storage for a flat annual fee. Mozy Carbonite

I personally use an external hard drive because I have over a terabyte of data to backup, which would take me weeks to restore from an online backup service, but I imagine most college students don’t have that much data.

16 Accessories

These accessories will supplement whatever laptop you purchase and will help improve your tech experience at college. These addons were selected with the needs and budget of the college student in mind.

Tip: Although university bookstores do sell many of these items (which can save unprepared students a trip into town), it does pay to get them ahead of time. You can get these much cheaper online, even taking into account shipping. Also, it’s almost always cheaper to buy these separately than to buy them bundled with your laptop.

	Printer A printer will come in handy when it comes time to print your college papers and other homework. Yes, you can often print papers at your university’s computer lab, but it can be a hassle, especially if you live off-campus or if the lab isn’t open 24/7. You’ll probably want to buy an inkjet printer, not a laser printer, since laser printers that can print documents in color ink can be quite expensive. A decent inkjet printer will cost around $50. Most printers come with a USB cable to hook the printer up to your computer, but if not, you can buy the needed “USB A-to-B” cable separately for $5 online. Printers: Printer Cables: Extra Ink:
	Headphones If you plan on using your laptop to listen to music, you may want to get headphones out of courtesy to your roommate. You can buy regular wired headphones that you plug in to your computer, or you can opt for wireless Bluetooth headphones that don’t tie you to your desk. If you get Bluetooth headphones, be sure you get a laptop that supports Bluetooth. All headphones: Bluetooth headphones:
	USB Flash Drive A flash drive (also known as a jump drive or USB stick) is useful for transferring files to a friend’s laptop or a university lab computer. I’ve used them countless times in college. Flash drives cost only $10-30 online.
	Surge Protector A surge protector guards your gear from power surges from lightning, etc. You can get a cheap one online for $10. At that price, it’s well worth the protection it provides.
	Ethernet Cable If your dorm or other housing offers Internet via ethernet, you’ll need a cable to plug your computer into the ethernet port. Even if your housing has both ethernet and Wifi, you still might want to get an ethernet cable in case you experience Wifi connectivity issues. If you get the cable online, it’ll only cost $5, shipping included.
	HDMI Cable With an HDMI cable, you can hook up your laptop to an HDTV in the student lounge and show a home video or an iTunes movie to your friends on the big screen. For this to work, both your laptop and the TV need an HDMI port and you’ll need an HDMI cable to connect the two. (Disclaimer: some older HDTVs may not have HDMI.) If you think an HDMI cable is something you’d use, be sure to get it online. A store will try to charge you anywhere from $20 to $200 for it, but you can get it online for $5, shipping included.

17 Before You Order

Quick Tip: If you’re buying online, do a Google search for the store or company you’re buying from, followed by the word “coupons,” e.g. “dell coupons.” You may just find a code that can give you a discount on your purchase.

18 After the Purchase

Here are some words of advice for after you purchase your college laptop:

1. If you buy a Windows laptop, chances are the manufacturer loaded on useless software, special offers, trial links, advertisements, and various doodads that you probably won’t need. You can uninstall these programs yourself of course, or you can use the free PC Decrapifier program to do it for you.
2. Rather than go through the time-consuming process of downloading and installing Skype, iTunes, Microsoft Security Essentials, and other programs one-by-one, let Ninite install them all for you in one fell swoop at no charge.

19 Conclusion

This “laptops for college students” guide was based on years of personal experience in computer purchasing and in college laptop usage. I hope it aided you in your buying decision. Please feel free to send a link to this guide to students or parents who might find it helpful!

I originally wrote this post in June 2011 and have since then updated it with the latest information in July 2011, December 2011, and on May 17, 2012.

To export your Word document to PDF format, just follow the instructions for your version of Word:

1. When the old email address appears in the autocomplete box, use your up/down arrow keys to highlight the address
2. Press the “Delete” key on your keyboard
3. If you haven’t done so already, finish typing the contact’s name
4. Now press Ctrl+K on your keyboard to load the new email address from your contact list

1. Close out any programs that are using the drive whose letter you want to change
2. Click the Start button
3. Right-click “Computer” or “My Computer”
4. Click “Manage” from the popup menu

   

5. If a User Account Control dialog appears, click “Continue”
6. Click “Disk Management” under “Storage” on the left
7. In the list, find the drive whose letter you want to change and right-click on it
8. Click “Change Drive Letter and Paths…” from the popup menu

   

9. Click the “Change…” button

   

10. Select a new letter from the dropdown

    

11. Click OK
12. A dialog will appear warning you that programs that rely on drive letters (e.g. your backup software, if you’ve told it to backup certain drives) may no longer work. Click “Yes.”

    

13. If you didn’t complete step 1 (closing out programs using the drive), you may get this warning:

    

    If you know what program is using the drive, click “No,” close the program that’s using the drive, and repeat these steps. Otherwise, click “Yes” and restart your computer.

14. Close the “Computer Management” window
15. Click "Start," click "Computer" or "My Computer," and view the Computer window’s drive list to confirm that the drive shows up with the new letter