Toeing the line on back-to-school PCs

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of Compaq Presario desktops including its SR1500NX series at prices starting around $579. The PCs also bundle HP ImageZone software and its LightScribe direct disc-labeling technology.

In the notebook category, HP is highlighting its relationship with six-time Tour de France cycling champion Lance Armstrong with its HP Special Edition L2000 Notebook. The "statement" computer, which is expected to ship next week, is powered by Advanced Micro Device's Turion 64 and will sport the LiveStrong logo, along with a copy of Armstrong's autograph on the keyboard, the companies said.

Gateway's back-to-school line of retail desktop PCs also features Windows Media Center 2005 operating system. The company is beefing up its desktop systems such as its $1049 840GM model with a 16x double-layer multiformat DVD optical drive that reads and writes and a 250GB serial attached hard drive, Intel's high-definition audio, three Ethernet ports and seven USB 2.0 ports. In addition, the computers come with a faster PCI Express slot for future graphic card upgrades.

"Desktop has the advantage in price, but the notebooks are the hot sellers," Gartner's Fiering said. "That is where kids will throw them in the backpack and take them to class or to the library."

Fiering added that while a machine with a dual-core processor is not a necessity today, it will become a checklist item in the 2006-2007 timeframe. That's when chipmakers Intel and AMD expect to be shipping the bulk of their dual-core processors.

Laptops trumping desktops
Research from Current Analysis suggests that wide screens and thinner and lighter systems are selling better than their desktop replacement counterparts. While laptops weighing between 6 and 7 pounds make up about 45 percent of the total laptop market, analyst Sam Bhavnani with Current Analysis says sub-6 pound thin and light categories are gaining and now make up 25 percent of the market.

That's no surprise, given that laptops in general are outselling their desktop counterparts, Current Analysis found. The firm showed that notebook PCs sold more than desktop versions for a solid month back in May. The research firm is reporting another milestone on Thursday. Its sales report for the second quarter shows that laptops outsold desktops for the first time in a three-month period. Notebooks now make up 51.9 percent share of the total PC market, according to Bhavnani.

In some cases, universities are helping fuel the sales of laptops over desktops. The University of Florida, for example, requires students to use laptops by their junior year; university bookstore representative Marcus Keys says Dell Latitudes and Apple PowerBooks have been hot sellers.

Tablet PCs represent another emerging trend. While price had been a barrier, Gartner's Fiering notes that handwriting recognition has improved enough that it's being picked up by more university physics, chemistry, math and engineering departments.

Lambke said his site has seen more higher education and K-12 schools looking at tablet PCs, thanks in part to PC makers such as Lenovo and HP, chipmaker Intel and software maker Microsoft, which offers a tablet PC-specific operating system.

"Of the 2,000 PCs that a school would schedule to buy with us, Lambke said, "we're seeing them set aside about 100 or so as a pilot program to see how it works."

[Earl Benser]

One thing not said.....

... Laptops in the classroom are a huge msitake. Student note
taking skills (or any one else's) just don;t work very well at all on
a computer. A simple notebook and pen or pencil are the only
way to go for a serious student. Writing retains mental clues to
the context of a note, spatial relations on the paper comtain far
more information than words alone can provide, and the
student's imagination is unfettered by a keyboard and a mouse.

If thee were a good tablet design, that could work - depending
on how the tablet software transforms the input.

PC's and Mac's should be used when and where keyboard input
actually is needed - dorm room, library, work spaces, etc. There
is no place in the classroom for a laptop if the student is really
interested in learning.

[rodnarms]

Good point.

I was debating if I should use my 12" Powerbook G4 at seminary. I
think you just helped me answer that question. Your right, you
can't remember as much if you just type it in vs. writing. However
the built in mic of my laptop will allow me to record the classes for
later use.

The brain, or at least mine, cannot do that.

[Dibbs]

i beg to differ

i am a student with a learning disablity. when i can, i write notes with a pen, but if i must write quickly then i have to use a laptop. i simply cannot write fast enough by hand. disability services on campus make it possible for me to do this, even if an instructor wishes me not to. i dont try to cause trouble, but there are times with i needs these tools.

take these things into consideration.

[sanenazok]

Wonder if

Any school will be putting a PPC Mac as a recommendation, or if when a school does so will it remind people that Apple is switching architectures.

[Dibbs]

no biggie

its not a big deal. you'll be able to get software for your PPC Mac as long as you want.

[Earl Benser]

And switching processors....

... is all that Apple is doing. The Macintosh maintains it's
'architecture' (Same car, just different engine).

And most schools who really know what they are doing just ask
for the students to have a laptop, Mac or Windows or even Linux.
The key elements are tha ability to link into the school's network
and to produce college quality papers, at least for appearance.

If the school doesn't know what they are doing, then they are
likely involved in a commercial deal with a computer
manufacturer to require specific laptop computers in return for a
kickback.

And some schools, like some people, think that WIndows is all
there is. Hardly the mind set for a center of learning ;-)

[rbannon]

Has to be said . . .

I have been an educational professional for almost twenty years,
and I think note-taking is of little importance. Read, study, do
exercises if appropriate, and just listen to what the instructor is
doing in class.

[Earl Benser]

Perhaps....

... but typically instructors provide alternate views on the subject
being taught, views not obvious in the text. And the instructor's
focus in lectures is the focus to be expected on tests and in future
applications. Verbal memory is not that good among most
students. Visual memory ususally is even worse. Note taking
becomes an essential way to recover the teachings.

And.... note taking keeps you awake. In some classes, and on some
days, that's a very difficult task.