I’m not sure which route I want to take for a portable electronic device for school. Laptop is more expensive, but I could (more easily) write papers and whatnot on it. Plus I could store more on it and use flash drives and CDs with it. Downside is size and price. Or I could get a tablet. Cheaper, but less capable and while I could still take notes in it, and get a keyboard/case, it would be inconvenient to write papers on, and there’s no cd/USB usage with it. Less memory. But also slightly more portable. Right now, target has a deal where you get a $50 dollar gift card if you buy an iPad from there. Could use that money to get a good case. But I also get $100 off laptops from apple for being a student.

The cheapest level MacBook is $1000. While it does come with a Core i5 (which you wouldn't really find useful unless you were running 100+ processes at once), it has almost no drive space. Taking that route is throwing money away when you could get a Windows-based laptop with more drive space and an adequate processor for around $450.

An iPad would be completely useless in a school setting without an internet connection. From what I've read, it CANNOT be used as an external device without some sort of iTunes synchronization, which is really poor design. If you decide on a tablet, make sure it's from a developer that allows the tablet itself to be used as an external device. Then you can connect it to one of the computers in your school computer lab to drag and drop files.

>>2 Makes sense. Thank you. My school has internet connection everywhere on the grounds, one of the few nice things about it. Still, I think I'm going to go with a 13-15 inch laptop of some sort. I know macbooks are terribly overpriced, but my appeal to them is they are well built and durable. 99% chance I'll be running linux on whatever I get, anyways. But if I find a good non-apple laptop for cheaper then I'll definitely go that route. Probably the best option.

You can find laptops with aluminum casings and they are pretty durable. The HP Pavilion dv6's casing is aluminum and starts at under $600. However, no computer is invincible. I have a dm4 which is made of the same material and it has a massive dent from something I did to it. Still, no cracks, just some minor scratches here and there. Then again, I've taken my laptop to hell and back, pretty much.

If you'll have internet the whole time you can get a tablet with a Dropbox app and see if you can connect to Dropbox on your school's computers, then transfer your files through the cloud. Getting a strong case for such a device would be just as beneficial as having an aluminum computer. Research extensively before you make your final decision. If there's anything I can help you with, let me know.

I don't know about other schools ,but at mine. You'll get a referral and you cannot use the computers for downloading "uneccessay data"; programs ; or alter programs (setting IE to use proxy). Also The master computer can acces anyone's designated school accounts.

I reccomend something fast and lightweight but not a theif magnet!

get a netbook laptop they are small and portable with a long battery life. They are great for bring to take notes and writing papers. Another way would be a Microsoft surface tablet that is small and portable plus it is a touch screen. also dont get a mac laptop because you will save money even with the 100$ discount (not trying to start a mac vs pc argument)