What to Buy for the High School Grad

by Ron Stoloff, Family Computing SIG

Published in The Philadelphia Area Computer Society Data Bus
Volume 19, Number 3
September, 1994

[This article, like many here, was written for the PACS Newsletter while I was head of the Family Computing SIG, and could be seen as completely, TOTALLY out of date as it was written in 1994, long before computers were seen almost as an appliance, really cheap and downright ubiquitous, however, reading this, many points still ring true, though I must admit the idea of an “integrated word processor” would get you looks of incredulous disbelief were you to wander in to a Best Buy and ask for one.
Read this just to see how different – and similar – the problems parents have today as they send their kids off to college.]

This article can be considered too late, since graduations were three months ago. But you could also consider it ten months early, if your graduate is going to be launched from high school in June of ’95. Either way, this will seek to cover the topic and give you guidance in what can be a murky and expensive region. I’d also like to apologize in advance to Sidney Goldstein, since his purview is “How to Buy a Computer,” but I’ll be looking at the situation of someone who will have to buy a machine for someone else.

Not Always the Obvious Choice

Before we get to what machine to buy, you must consider the possibility that your graduate might not even need a computer in college. No, I’m not suggesting you send them off with a Smith-Corona portable typewriter – even I’m not that cruel. There is an alternative, and that is a simple, integrated Word Processing machine. I’m sure there are many reading this who are mumbling, “Stoloff’s lost his mind!”

But consider this: a friend has sent two kids to Penn State without a computer but one of the aforementioned and they’ve had no problems and he has saved major bucks as the latest machine cost him only $350. This is a thermal printer so his kid can print italics, double-wides and such that the machine he sent his first kid off with couldn’t quite manage. That was a Daisy Wheel and it lasted his four years and one of the sister’s before ending its days. When you consider the cost effectiveness, you can’t beat it.

When his kids need a machine for more challenging activities, something that evidently didn’t happen too often, Penn State has computer labs that have ALL types – including Apple Ile’s – that are available to students. True, when his son entered law school, he did move up to a “real” computer, but the simple word processor did him well enough for all of his needs. Lest you get the feeling that my friend was just being cheap, both kids were more than just computer literate and were offered anything they wanted and they chose to go the simple route. One of the considerations for the daughter was the relative size and weight since it would have to be constantly moved on and off the tiny desk in her dorm and the integrated package made this a major consideration.

The Computer Route

If you just can’t consider the above possibility, then the next question you must consider first is “What type?” For many reading this the choice is obvious – the kind you have – this is sort of a religious question, and it negates the real question: What does the kid need? You see, if you buy based on your proclivities, your kid might not be able to function in the college environment they are entering. If you are a DOS/Windows Family and you try to send your kid equipped thus to a Mac universe, there will be a considerable amount of frustration. Consider this: even if your kid has a machine different from yours, in four years, when they graduate from college, they can still sell the machine and then get the “right one.” In the mean time, they’ve not only functioned well in the college environment but learned another skill – they can also use another type of computer. So, no matter what the business world they enter requires, they will be ready to walk right in. You’ll be happier since they can get a job rather than have to move back in with you, always a ghastly thought for both of you.

OK, so how do you figure out what machine would serve your kid best? Funny you should ask, as on Prodigy, in the Computer Section, Steve Rosenthal has been considering this very question and is the inspiration of this article. Rosenthal is a Mac person, but you DOS folk should not hold this against him as he wrote two very balanced articles. His major point is to see what the school supports and, even further, what the particular part of the school your kid will be attending supports. You must be more specific than some think: he mentioned the example of a Mac college where the Business School required Windows machines. Rosenthal thinks that relatively few schools even make a recommendation so you can often go the way that makes you and your kid comfortable.

What Kind of Machine?

I’m not referring to the type but to desk-top vs. laptop. The idea that your kid will take the machine to class and type their notes directly into the machine is an appealing one, and probably a way to get your kid killed by either the teacher or the other students in class. The clicking of the keys during the entire class period – remember some run to 1 1/2 hours long – is enough to get some people to want to cause grievous injury to the perpetrator. This ignores the other problems of relative cost, ease of loss/theft, and/or damage that could occur in dragging a laptop with them to every class. [“Uh, folks, can you send me another machine, I left mine in the lunchroom?”] Therefore, the most practical machine would seem to be the desktop both for price and the ease of use – imagine looking at a laptop screen at 3:00 in the morning writing that last-minute explication of Areopagitica. Is this something you would wish on someone who sprang from your loins/womb?

Where to Buy?

Rosenthal points out that several years ago schools, in their mass buying programs, could offer terrific prices. This is no longer the case, especially in DOS machines because by the time the school makes the agreement of hardware and price, gets it published and distributed and the hardware delivered you could have gone to the back of almost any computer magazine and beaten the price. For Macs this is not as blatant, but prices of all machines are falling and the velocity varies from day to day.

What to Load it With?

He feels that you should consider the requirements of the user, not what is available. This will result in potential savings, especially if the requirements are not cutting edge. If the kid’s area is the Humanities then you won’t need a co-processor or super fast graphics but you might require a CD-ROM for reading databases or other research. Consider how easy it is to hook into the school’s network – if there is one.

Remember to get your kid a modem, since so many schools are connected to the Intenet. You can correspond through the PACS BBS and its Internet E-Mail connection and probably save more than the cost of the modem in one semester as your kid will be able to ask you to send more money without calling you collect.