Hi All:

I’m in the market for a notebook computer for my daughter, who will be starting college this Fall. Unfortunately, my knowledge and experience with laptops is almost nil. The breadth of experience on this board seems to be quite wide, so I'm hoping that there is some collective experience I can tap into.

Some specific areas where I could use advice include:

 Manufacturer: Any experience with HP vs. Dell vs. other? Any model seem more physically robust than others? I assume that an Apple product is asking for interoperability/support issues in a college environment.
 General usage: Any manufacturer’s keyboard/pointer particularly good, or bad for daily use? Is a mini-mouse an absolute necessity?
 Processor Type: Just how fast a processor is really needed? (AMD Turion vs. AMD Athlon vs Intel Processors. Dual core vs single core?)
 Screen size, and format. 14” vs. 15” vs. 17”? Widescreen vs. 4x3?
 Screen type: Matt vs. Glossy
 OS: Oh, the many flavors of Vista. Plus, would I regret choosing XP in a couple years?
 RAM: I assume she’ll need 2GB for Vista…or should I splurge and get 4GB?
 Disk Size: 80 vs. 120 GB. I assume bigger is always better.
 Wireless: A vs. G vs. N, which is most likely to work at a college center?
 Batteries: 6 cell vs. 9 cell vs. whatever. Is a spare battery a good idea?
 Docking Station: Is it needed to connect an external monitor/keyboard/mouse? If so, is it worth an extra $150 or so, or is she more likely to use the laptop stand-alone while at her desk? How do you use your laptop at your desk?
 Cases: Anybody here a student or have a kid in college with a laptop? Do you use a case/backpack for it, or would it simply collect dust?

If it makes any difference, she is entering a cirruculum in Music Education. However, I may be in the market for a second computer for my other daughter who is in a Speech/Language Pathology program.

Thanks for any advice you can provide.

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