new mb advice for my 10 yr old daughter:

[Fishrrman]

No matter how well you've brought up the daughter, kids that age are going to have "accidents", particularly with laptops.

I think you ought to consider getting her a used or refurbished iMac instead of a laptop. Chances are, that way she'll only drop/spill things into the keyboard, instead of the whole computer!

No use buying new or high-end, either - unless you're well-heeled enough so that it makes no difference.

I'll bet she'd be very happy with a base-model refurbished iMac.

- John

 

[txhockey9404]

I think it is a good idea for a 10 year old to have access to a computer, possibly their own, but not their own laptop. I have a 10 year old brother who generally takes very good care of his things, and he has used a 2.0ghz 20" Aluminum iMac that has essentially been his for 2.5 years with absolutely no problems. I am 16 and had one as well for 2 years, and just got my first laptop (13" MBP) because I needed it for school. The only time I really ever use it as a portable is at school. At home, it has its own homemade dock that I use to plug it into power, ethernet, keyboard, mouse, speakers, and display. I have had it for 6 months, bought a case for it immediately, and even paid for my own Applecare (we had a graphics card fail in one of the iMacs, and after seeing the repair bill ($600+) we figured it was a good idea to get Applecare when the year was up). I don't think my brother could handle a laptop of his own. For now, he is perfectly fine with the iMac, and in the rare occasion that he needs a portable computer, I lend him my MBP with very strict rules.

I say get her an iMac. It will last much longer, and you can use it too! I really like that new base model 21.5".

 

[drossad]

Don't get me wrong, I love my Mac... and I would love for my kids first experience to be on a Mac, but...
... really? A Mac for a 10 year old? Does that really make economical sense right now?

Unless you have money growing on trees, i'd say:

get the kid a netbook
or
get a MB that is a "family" computer

I don't think a 10 year old really needs a MB all to themselves.
Plus, making it a family computer will help in your effort to teach responsibility for nice/expensive things since their will be different expectations of treatment of the computer based on shared use.

But hey, if you have the money, and really want to, then go for it. Who am I to tell you what to do with your money.

The MB 13" should suffice for your needs. The HD should be fine. Maybe just upgrade the ram.

 

[Meever]

Get her a refub older model.

You also have to factor in the fact that there's a lot of ass donkies that would try and take advantage of the fact that there's a little girl with an expensive computer ( "Hey, I'll give you 200 dollars for that computer!" ).

Applecare is also a must. Kids will be kids, it doesn't matter how "mature" they seem, all kids have "D'oh" moments.

 

[SAIRUS]

Look we have no idea how and what stage a 10 year old kid is at.

I'm not a parent (at least that I know of), but have taken enough behavioral science to vaguely know what goes on (yeah med school is awesome).

Now kids do need nurturement, but the only thing I'm worried about is the chance of the kid becoming introverted due to stresses of puberty. If she forms too much of an attachment to a computer, she may jump to it like a crutch. So in my opinion, laptop might be a bad idea.

If on the other hand, its possible they could use the computer for actual useful things such as homework and school projects, then there is nothing wrong with that. Of course we still want them to interact with kids in the real world to help them develop into useful members of society, so in this case a computer access might be good.


I personally would go more for a desktop, and a mac with the full warranty. It would allow for some control by the parent if they wish, and a bigger screen to not strain young eyes. Thumb drives are pretty good for portable projects, and not the end of the world if they are lost or stolen. Possibly a family laptop could be bought and used in those situations which require a presentation to be shown.

Of course if the school is requiring everyone to have a laptop, we got a whole new bag of worms.

Let the parent decide, but an expensive object is a pretty decent way to impact some responsibility on a child.

 

[cfitz7111]

Shop for a refurb on the previous generation of MacBook. I have seen them, real basic model for $650 up to $750, and AppleCare is a MUST.

I would also look at buying used, eBay, Craigslist, for what she will be doing there are a lot of good machines looking for a good home, and would cost a lot less if that is at all an issue

I personally like iWork, but it is a pain to save it as an MS Office file if I need it to share, since most people have MS Office.

Good luck

 

[Primejimbo]

Don't get me wrong, I love my Mac... and I would love for my kids first experience to be on a Mac, but...
... really? A Mac for a 10 year old? Does that really make economical sense right now?

Unless you have money growing on trees, i'd say:

get the kid a netbook
or
get a MB that is a "family" computer

I don't think a 10 year old really needs a MB all to themselves.
Plus, making it a family computer will help in your effort to teach responsibility for nice/expensive things since their will be different expectations of treatment of the computer based on shared use.

But hey, if you have the money, and really want to, then go for it. Who am I to tell you what to do with your money.

The MB 13" should suffice for your needs. The HD should be fine. Maybe just upgrade the ram.

The economy is in the crapper but who is to judge? If he has the money and his financial is set, he can do what he wants. I know a few people who played their cards right and are buying like they always did. They have money saved, great jobs, and are doing things right.

 

[Badger^2]

my original advice still stands

dont bother with a refurb

new macbooks build quality is 10X better than the previous model

supposedly, microcenter is about to have them for $999 + $200 visa gift card = not a bad deal if you can get it