Mabook Pro For College. What Software?

[TLB]

Ombligo wrote:
Then be ready for the 2am phone call when something goes wacky and they have a paper due.

I bought him a Dell and told him, "Sorry, I can't help you with this machine."

[cyclemax]

Many schools offer Academic versions of needed software for next to nothing or even free. You may want to wait on loading the machine until you look into this.

[J Marston]

The college ought to have a list of generic software required of all students; those in math, stats, engineering, etc., may have specialized software. (You can usually find this on the college web site.)

The college can probably install (or provide a discounted activation code) for anything they recommend.

A lot of schools will not allow computers in classrooms (although I know of a couple that allow iPads or tablets).

Most places these days require that essays be submitted electronically, usually in Word format.

[Speedy]

TLB wrote:
[quote=Ombligo]
Then be ready for the 2am phone call when something goes wacky and they have a paper due.

I bought him a Dell and told him, "Sorry, I can't help you with this machine."
(tu)

I bought my son a nice Xerox laser printer. Everyone and his roommate used it. Extra carts were needed early on but I only bought the first extra set. None were needed again. I bought him a nice compact scanner as a freshman which never got opened before he graduated. So wait to see what is needed.

[bfd]

Don't need to put anything on it now. Many campuses now have MS Office subscriptions for students (part of the deal). Plus, if there is any software that's really needed, it'll be cheaper to buy it on campus at a student price. Getting insurance of some sort is helpful, and reminding your student that campus is not like home - no matter how much they try to make it seem that way. Someone WILL take an unattended laptop, without a second thought. So finding a good place to hide/store it in their dorm room, or apt, is vital. While a printer is nice for printing tickets or other event info, this is often available via app or online. Very little gets printed anymore, unless it's in the student's own handwriting. (Sciences are still dependent on student work.) Otherwise, papers are turned in via LMS like Blackboard so the instructor isn't left trying to keep track of a bunch of papers. This does change as your student moves through lower division coursework (huge classes) to upper division (smaller groups).

For the most part, plan on that computer being used mostly for streaming video and at crunchtime for classwork. LOL

[sekker]

1password - buy this and install.

Notability - get this set up, especially if there is also an iPad in the equation.

Dropbox - get the free version, it's kind of a pain to install these days.

[space-time]

sekker wrote:
...

Dropbox - get the free version, it's kind of a pain to install these days.

What did they change?

[sekker]

space-time wrote:
[quote=sekker]
...

Dropbox - get the free version, it's kind of a pain to install these days.

What did they change?
It's not easy to find on their site, and you have to avoid the paid version button. It was not obvious at all when I tried to sign up earlier this year for a friend.

[freeradical]

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