I need a laptop...or do I?

I need a laptop…or do I?

It’s only November, and already whenever I go into the Library in college all of the PC’s are occupied. So...maybe the solution is to buy a laptop. But there are so many out there, which one do I choose?

First Things First

Well, what are my needs?

1. As there aren’t many power or network outlets in the library, it must have Wi-Fi so that I can log into the college network and the internet, and…
2. It must have a long battery life.
3. It must have a large enough memory chip to run the likes of Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.
4. It must have a large enough screen to be able to use Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator comfortably and practical ably.
5. It must be small and light enough for me to carry around.
6. I have to be able to afford it.


Wi-Fi is obviously essential so that I can log into the college network without having to plug it into a network connection I need to be able to access my folders and the Lecturer’s notes and assignments. I also need to be able to access the internet for research and to submit assignments via Blackboard.

Most laptops seem to have a shorter battery life than advertised on their promotional literature. This is because they run the tests when the computer is idle and not actually processing any data. I’ll need to find some independent research on this to get the real battery life. There’s nothing as frustrating as not being able to finish your work, or worse, losing it, because the battery has died.

Some of the smaller notebooks have chips of only 1GB. These are grand for most things you’d want to do, but for this course, we use Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, both of which use a lot of memory. To run them at any kind of workable speed, I’d probably need around 3GB.

The same goes for screen size. Working with those programmes on a small screen for any length of time is just not practical, nor comfortable.

If I’m going to have to carry the laptop/notebook around all day, it’s going to have to be small and light.

Finally, can I have all of the above at a price that I can afford? Well, this is where the real research comes in. Do I buy online or from a shop? New or second hand? Which brand is the best value? Does the price reflect the quality or the brand name? Do I stick rigidly to my budget or could I be swayed by the promotion? So many questions.

Those are my basic requirements. I’d also like it to be a pretty colour and design. So now all I need to decide is…do I really need one?