If there's a recent grad in your house, or you're one of the many buyers who think they can get a better deal at midyear than during the holidays, chances are good that you're looking for a computer. And your chances of finding a good one for a reasonable price are good indeed. In fact, you'd have to work pretty hard to find a bad one.
For that we can thank Moore's Law - which should more accurately be called Moore's Bubble. Gordon Moore, the co-founder of Intel, predicted decades ago that the number of transistors that engineers could cram onto a wafer of silicon would double every 18 months for the foreseeable future.
It's a bit like the housing bubble. Only instead of creating uncontrolled inflation in the market, followed by the inevitable bust, Moore's Bubble has created a market for ever more powerful computers at lower prices, not to mention a generation of cheap, pocket-sized gadgets. Most computer scientists say the bubble will continue to grow for some years to come - by which time, an even more astonishing technology bubble will replace it.
That being enough theory for this otherwise practical column, let's talk about the best computer choice for your student - or for you.
Thanks to Mr. Moore, that computer is likely to be a laptop machine today, rather than a desktop. And if you don't like an idea of a laptop because the screen and keyboard are too small, here's my advice - buy a laptop, hook up a keyboard, monitor and mouse, and use it as a desktop machine.
If you're a student, the advantages of a laptop are obvious. Being relatively young and strong, you probably don't think twice about toting one around campus to take notes in class or study in the library. And it can easily travel home with you on vacation.
If you're an adult, a laptop provides almost as much processing bang for the buck as a desktop machine, and the flexibility of using it anywhere in your home, or taking it on vacation, is worth the extra cost.
There are two exceptions to this rule. If you or your student is a serious game player - I'm talking about high-end action titles - you'll pay considerably more for the cutting-edge processing power you'll need in a laptop computer than in a desktop. That laptop will also run hot enough to burn a hole in your lap.
To a lesser extent, serious, high-definition video editing needs a lot of horsepower and hard drive storage - you can do it on a laptop if you're willing to pay for the privilege.
