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I am a high school student and need help

S

stonegammage

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 23, 2010
39
0
Okay so here is my story. I have a 2.66GHz iMac with 4Gb of RAM. It is the 20" version. I also have a 32Gb Wifi iPad. I love them both and get tons of use out of them. So here is my situation. I may or may not have a summer job and will be a high school freshman next year. I am finding the need for portability more and more. I love my iPad and will always want to have an iPad.

So: should I get a macbook pro 13" i7 with 4gb of RAM with an iPad 2? Or should I just get a macbook air with the iPad 2 and use my iMac as kind of a base station?

Or should I just keep my iPad for a while and what Mac laptop should I get?

I am wanting a mac laptop because of course it is simple to type on. And it is powerful. Or would I be fine with my iMac and an iPad 2 later on?

Thanks so much for your help, my dad is kind of in the same boat that I am.


Stone :)
 
Or keep your current Ipad and Imac and get a Macbook Air then have the best of all worlds and lots of portability. The Air is just about the same thickness of your Ipad.
 
hey i'm a junior and i'm not allowed to bring mine many places because someone might "steel" it or my parents are afraid ill break it. my parents feel it is more of a risk when is coasts 629$ instead of my iphone witch coasts half that or more. now back to your problem.....


personally it depends what you will be doing some things are not practical or cant be done on an ipad as on a laptop. but the ipad is much portable and is less expensive. for me if i was to need it for school i would be fine with an ipad, i need to use the web, type things, take pics, look things up, and have fun. so for me that is easier on an ipad. i have an iMac at home and i'm typing on it now. even if i had school work i would i can do it on either. but even if u have to carry around books, u can just download them on the ipad. so for me if i was always out running around (yes i have a very active social life even though i post here a lot) i would rather have an ipad. you just have to weigh the pros and cons according to you.
 
stonegammage said:
Okay so here is my story. I have a 2.66GHz iMac with 4Gb of RAM. It is the 20" version. I also have a 32Gb Wifi iPad. I love them both and get tons of use out of them. So here is my situation. I may or may not have a summer job and will be a high school freshman next year. I am finding the need for portability more and more. I love my iPad and will always want to have an iPad.

So: should I get a macbook pro 13" i7 with 4gb of RAM with an iPad 2? Or should I just get a macbook air with the iPad 2 and use my iMac as kind of a base station?

Or should I just keep my iPad for a while and what Mac laptop should I get?

I am wanting a mac laptop because of course it is simple to type on. And it is powerful. Or would I be fine with my iMac and an iPad 2 later on?

Thanks so much for your help, my dad is kind of in the same boat that I am.


Stone :)
Click to expand...


For a student - if you don't have a laptop - macbook 13" hands down. No contest.
 
Why do you need a laptop? Seriously, it's been a while since I've been in high school, so I'm curious what is the driving application that would force you to need a laptop. Wouldn't it be simpler and cheaper to buy a bluetooth keyboard for your iPad? Works great and whatever limitations you might find in the iPad can easily be overcome on your iMac at home.
 
supermac96 said:
you must be loaded! going into freshmen year with an imac, ipad, and thinking about possibly getting an ipad2 and macbook? wow. i wish i had that money!
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same thing lol

But even with the money....it seems a bit over kill. If you really must have them all, go for it. If you did have a budget, i would get the Air for school (but thats only because i hate carrying bulk on me). If you need the power, you have ur iMac at home.

And yes, as someone else mentioned, I would be afraid of it being stolen by other high schoolers.
 
pretty sure when i was in high school even a cell phone was a luxury lol
 
You already have an iMac and iPad? Sounds to me like you are set and don't need to add a laptop to that combination.
 
Dr Kevorkian94 said:
hey i'm a junior and i'm not allowed to bring mine many places because someone might "steel" it or my parents are afraid ill break it. my parents feel it is more of a risk when is coasts 629$ instead of my iphone witch coasts half that or more. now back to your problem.....
Click to expand...

Given that you're a junior in high school, take $20 and invest in a good dictionary, or at least spell-check every now and then.
 
Dr Kevorkian94 said:
hey i'm a junior and i'm not allowed to bring mine many places because someone might "steel" it or my parents are afraid ill break it. my parents feel it is more of a risk when is coasts 629$ instead of my iphone witch coasts half that or more. now back to your problem.....


personally it depends what you will be doing some things are not practical or cant be done on an ipad as on a laptop. but the ipad is much portable and is less expensive. for me if i was to need it for school i would be fine with an ipad, i need to use the web, type things, take pics, look things up, and have fun. so for me that is easier on an ipad. i have an iMac at home and i'm typing on it now. even if i had school work i would i can do it on either. but even if u have to carry around books, u can just download them on the ipad. so for me if i was always out running around (yes i have a very active social life even though i post here a lot) i would rather have an ipad. you just have to weigh the pros and cons according to you.
Click to expand...


Just insure it against theft. There are a few companies out there that would do that for little money.
 
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Unless you want to have the best gadgets in the unemployment line, save your money for college. It ain't cheap!
 
supermac96 said:
you must be loaded! going into freshmen year with an imac, ipad, and thinking about possibly getting an ipad2 and macbook? wow. i wish i had that money!
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same thing. I wish when I was a freshman in HS my biggest worries were what $750 tablet would best compliment my $2500 desktop and which $1000-3500 laptop I should get to compliment them both.

When I was a freshman my dad gave me a beat up old ball & told me to go break a branch off a tree so we could play some baseball!
 
ayz said:
pretty sure when i was in high school even a cell phone was a luxury lol
Click to expand...

Lol... I was one of the few, if not the only one at school having a home computer back in the 80's , and I was not allowed to present any reports printed off a computer.
I had to hand type these using my Grandfather's manual typewriter, or handwrite them. :mad:

Look at today, homework can be quickly made using cut-and-paste. What a life! :mad:
 
If I were you, I would stay with the iMac, and of course, get the iPad2.
Then, save up as much money as possible to buy either the latest MacBook Pro or MacBook Air for college.

Unless your iMac is way too slow and a clean OS install doesn't improve it, just squeeze another year out of it.
 
Amazing Iceman said:
Lol... I was one of the few, if not the only one at school having a home computer back in the 80's , and I was not allowed to present any reports printed off a computer.
I had to hand type these using my Grandfather's manual typewriter, or handwrite them. :mad:

Look at today, homework can be quickly made using cut-and-paste. What a life! :mad:
Click to expand...

And these kids today are not any smarter for it. They are just better at cutting corners.

Ask a HS kid today to physically write a paper & they will begin to get hand spasms in 5 minutes!
 
CAWjr said:
And these kids today are not any smarter for it. They are just better at cutting corners.

Ask a HS kid today to physically write a paper & they will begin to get hand spasms in 5 minutes!
Click to expand...

LOL... To tell you the truth, the primary reasons why I got interested in learning computers back then was that I didn't (and still don't) like to handwrite, and was getting tired of falling asleep on top of the typewriter and wake up to find out that most of my report was filled with random characters and therefore ruined.

The ironic twist to this story is that I bought a stylus to handwrite on my iPad. :eek:
 
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Amazing Iceman said:
LOL... To tell you the truth, the primary reasons why I got interested in learning computers back then was that I didn't (and still don't) like to handwrite, and was getting tired of falling asleep on top of the typewriter and wake up to find out that most of my report was filled with random characters and therefore ruined.

The ironic of the story is than I bought a stylus to handwrite on my iPad. :eek:
Click to expand...

I was in HS in the late 80s-early 90s. My mom was a school teacher & of course, Apple was all about education back then. She ran the only computer lab in her school district & as a result, she was able to have an Apple II to bring home. That was my first real experience with computers outside of playing games on a Commodore 64! It wasn't until I got to college & I was a junior that I finally bought a desktop. It was a Dell running windows 95. I'm pretty sure it cost me about $3500 & was less powerful than the calculator that is on my desk at work right now!

All I can say is...damn kids!
 
Honestly, sell all but the bare minimum and get out there and socialize. Do not squander your high school days on the computer.

I recently found some animation/3D title work I did back in high school, and my first thought was "damn, no wonder I didn't have a girlfriend back then" - meaning I learned a LOT, got a great job out of HS and into college (got there a year early even)...but I can't help but wonder what it would been like if I would have stopped stressing about MHz (remember those days) and RAM, etc, etc and focused on bettering myself.

*slips off soap box*
 
My own computer in HS? we all shared one computer if I remember correctly. When it was brought home it was like," ooooohhh ahhhhh, when is my turn on this?" We had pictures on our "Desktop" whatever photos you may slip under the desk protector. We also had stuff like film, and the one hour photo was a big thing then too.

Was it that long ago? Computers were very expensive then, when we had pay phones on every corner. Yes those things that accepted dimes and nickles, and yes quarters. No calling plans, no rollover minutes. No iPhone, or Droid, or Twitter updates every 2 seconds. No Apps for how to make the best waffle, or who's BFF is doing this and that. No texting your friends in the next class, or the next seat," The answer to the next question on the test is........" No DVD and Blu ray players in our SUV or car.

It was after the carrier pigeon, that I was in HS by the way. If you had a cell phone you were either rich, a stockbroker, or a drug dealer. Does anybody remember when an internet connection was considered a luxury? Anyways that might be the age getting to me, you know all that rambling, and the like. So I guess I'll just say what I came to say, before I forget what it is that I........ uh.............applesauce ....pudding..........um..... oh yeah!

If you have a computer and a printer and an internet connection you're fine. You have an iPad and an iMac? You're set, some kids don't even have a computer in their house to this day. Just be thankful for what you do have.
 

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eljanitor said:
My own computer in HS? we all shared one computer if I remember correctly.
Click to expand...

You got to share a computer? Talk about privileged. I had to write code to a paper tape on a DecWriter and then wait until after school when we could get some precious time on a mainframe to see if the darn thing would execute (which, more often than not, it didn't).
 
I'm not meaning to troll, but for high school, I suggest you take a binder with (gasp!) paper in it. With a high school's firm schedule, you'll basically be in class all day. Which means taking notes ALL DAY. And while you make think you can do it, nothing beats a pencil and paper for that. Believe me, I tried to replace my trusty engineering pad in college, but nothing worked out (In fact, I found that a laptop really only provides a distraction, so it actually stayed in my backpack during lectures). Need to write a paper? You'll probably be doing that at home anyway.

For anything else, there's usually a lab in the library with the resources you need to do your high school homework. If you MUST have digital access during your breaks, take the iPad you already own or use your phone. No sense in wasting your money; what you already have will suit you perfectly fine. Save your money for the car you'll inevitably buy. It will be FAR more important than a tech gizmo.
 
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