Advice From Experts
“Teens are looking for multimedia functionality. Parents are looking for photo-editing capability, security, and multimedia capabilities,” said Shagorika Dixit, NACC Product Manager with Hewlett Packard (HP). Although laptops are portable, they are more expensive to purchase and repair, and more difficult to expand.
Major manufacturers such as Dell and HP, among others, offer several variations of space-saving PCs with dual-core processors, 1GB of RAM, and a minimum of 80GB of hard drive space. Teens who only use computers for word processing and other basic functions could consider a system with 512MB and a 1.3GHz. Parents with teens interested in graphic design, web design, or gaming will want stronger systems containing minimum processor speeds of 2GHz and at least 2GB of RAM.
Another option is Macintosh. Although more expensive than PCs (they start around $1,000), their inherent stability and ease-of-use make them the computer of choice for artistic teens interested in graphics. Macs are less likely to contract viruses and attract pop-ups, plus they have webcams built in; PC owners must buy a webcam for about $20. Don’t worry about compatibility—both Macs and PCs use Microsoft Office these days.
Amy Pullen 08/10/07
We are back in the stone age, I guess, still sharing one computer in our family for the 4 of us. My teen son keeps lobbying for a laptop, but we’re on a tight budget and I didn’t think we could manage it. This article was very helpful in giving direction … you always see the high-end stuff on TV, but it can be done a lot more cheaply.
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