Laptop or Netbook for DD11

[Aryn]

I am having an issue deciding if my DD11 needs a full laptop or if a netbook would be enough for her needs. I would like to stay around $200 or so budgetwise.


The machine would need to be able to do research on the web and be able to write papers with all the bells and whistles of Microsoft Word, not wordpad, it doesn't do what she needs it to do.

As far as games go we have 2 desktops so the computer would not need to do that.

I would like to be able to child block or monitor what she does because she is not allowed to chat online or have facebook.

Does anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks in advance

 

[allyphoe]

The eMachines laptop at Walmart on Black Friday for $198 might work for you. If it doesn't come preloaded with Works, I'd expect the specs to be good enough to run OpenOffice (free program that will create documents in the same format as Word or Excel). Alternatively, Google Docs is tolerable for word processing.

 

[Diabolicdesire]

The eMachines laptop at Walmart on Black Friday for $198 might work for you. If it doesn't come preloaded with Works, I'd expect the specs to be good enough to run OpenOffice (free program that will create documents in the same format as Word or Excel). Alternatively, Google Docs is tolerable for word processing.

I got the emachines laptop last year and it has Microsoft works preloaded. It looks like the one this year is the same.

I bought my DD a netbook a few years ago but now that she is 13 and has more school work on the computer I'm thinking she needs a full size laptop.
I am considering trying to get her the emachine one this year.

 

[Aryn]

I was considering the emachines as well but I am concerned with actually getting one.
I have been to Walmart on Black Friday and its a mad house.

Maybe you can pick it up online?

Thanks for the suggestions. I hope others will chime in

 

[Disney_Freak56]

If you can get a notebook, I'd say pick it over the netbook. The netbook is smaller, but so limited in its use. You cannot play DVDs or CDs with it unless you have it connected to an external hard drive. And that means more $$ for that.

If want to download software you already own, I don't believe you can download it to the netbook. You can, however, download softward from the 'Net or use that extrernal hard drive that costs additional $$.

I have a netbook in addition to two laptops, a desktop and an Iphone and Ipod and the netbook just sits in its case and collects dust. I feel like it was the worst purchase I ever made. You can download photos to it so it is less cumbersome to take on vacation with you if you want to download photos from a memory card, but the keyboard is smaller and I find it difficult to get used to because I tpe on a "reguar" keyboard all day long and on the laptops.

I'm sure that others may have different opinions, but mine is -- if you can get the laptop at a price you can live with -- get the laptop over the netbook.

 

[Fyrefly]

If she is going to be writing a lot of papers on it, I'd say pick a notebook. Netbooks have tiny keyboards and writing essays on something that small can cramp up my hands pretty badly.

 

[shelly3girls]

I would absolutely choose the notebook. DD11 is constantly on her computer for school. Word, Powerpoint and Excel are programs she uses on a weekly basis.