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Category: Coding

Tips on Buying a Laptop for College

Every year around this time, I’m asked for advice on buying a laptop for a student heading off to college. This could come from the young person themselves, a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or a friend seeking to help. My answer is always, “It depends” followed by a lengthy discussion. Here, I’ll try to distil those discussions into a readable article. I’ll also aim to keep jargon and acronyms to a minimum!


While individual universities or the Department of Education may say laptops are optional for students, at this stage, a reliable machine is an essential piece of equipment for most students. Beyond being a work device, it might also serve as an entertainment centre (TV, game console, etc.). You might be shaking your head in disbelief, but this is the world we live in. “Whatever happened to pen and paper??” – they’re still around and used more than ever, but computers can also be formidable learning devices. However, owning a powerful laptop doesn’t make someone a brilliant student, just as owning a Fender Stratocaster doesn’t make someone a brilliant guitarist – they still have to learn how to play.


“Hey, shut up and just tell me what laptop to get” you might mentally cry. If you want that, scroll to the recommendations at the end or visit one of the articles elsewhere on the web. Also, I’m not going to spend time explaining the functions of each individual component in a computer. If you want something like that, there are excellent articles already written. I won’t get into the Mac vs. PC debate either. Suffice it to say, they can both be excellent, and most software packages are available for both platforms. “What about Linux?” – if you’re the kind of person considering a Linux laptop, then you don’t need to read any further. The point of this piece is to help non-techies make a more informed purchase.


Try to imagine that buying a computer is kind of like buying a car (I don’t know much about cars). Some people just need small runaround to get them from A to B. Others need a van that can store loads of store and can take a bit of beating. A few need truck that can haul a heavy load and there’s plenty out there who don’t really care as long as it looks nice and is reliable. There’s even a racers out there who like to modify their cars. Different drivers. Different needs. Poor analogy? Maybe …


So, what laptop should a student buy? The answer depends on several factors, but I’ll boil it down to two: requirements and budget. I’ll briefly describe some things NOT to do, and finally, I’ll recommend some specific machines.


Requirements – What Do You Need the Machine to Do?

A person learning computer programming is likely to have different IT needs than an individual studying agricultural science. In the same way, someone taking English and Philosophy in an Arts program is likely to have requirements that differ from someone studying Graphic Design or Engineering. First and foremost, you need to figure out what those requirements are. For example, is there a particular software package they’re likely to use (e.g., Adobe Photoshop, AutoCAD)? If so, you’ll want to make sure any machine you buy will definitely run that software. Check the specifications of the machine to ensure the processor, memory, etc., meets the recommended requirements. Most software packages publish these minimum and recommended requirements online – your favourite search engine will yield results here. For example, the system requirements for Adobe Photoshop can be found here – on a Windows machine, a multicore 64 bit processor with 16GB RAM is recommended and a Graphics Card that supports DirectX 12. That might read like a load of gobbledegook, but you’ll be able to match it up to the advertised specs of any laptop you’re considering. The main thing you want to do is ensure you don’t buy a seriously underpowered machine that won’t do what’s needed.


Some “requirements” that are often forgotten (but are very important) include form factor, portability, battery life, and aesthetics. These are often less quantifiable than straight specs like the amount of RAM in a machine. How do you measure how “nice” a machine looks? However, do not underestimate the importance of things like portability. There’s a world of difference difference between lugging around a bulky laptop that weighs 2.5kg and a svelte ultrabook that’s only 1.2kg. You might not even consider how much a machine weighs when looking at potential purchases, but your back and shoulder muscles will definitely feel the difference! You might also want to check the build materials. Some machines are constructed from hard plastics. These can be cheaper than aluminum shells, but they’re also less likely to survive a fall or spill. Is the student someone who’s “hard” on gear? If so, you may be better off buying a more rugged laptop. Otherwise, they could end up breaking the first one and then having to buy a second.


Figure out what your requirements are and rank them in terms of importance. You may need to make some compromises.

Budget – You Get What You Pay For

This brings us to the second major factor when buying a laptop – price. I could recommend a swanky Surface Pro or a sleek MacBook, but that recommendation is useless if you can’t afford it. I think of laptop purchases like a seesaw, with “features” on one side and “cost” on the other. The more features, the higher the cost. You’ve got to figure out the right balance. The best laptop for you is the one that meets as many of your requirements as possible while staying within your budget. Small, light and powerful machines tend to be more expensive than larger, heavier ones. It might be better to go for a lighter machine with a less powerful processor than a bigger machine with a powerful CPU that’s impractical to carry around. If you’re only going to be running basic Office-type software, the latest and greatest CPU won’t be necessary anyway. Nor will you need a ridiculous amount of RAM. However, if the student is starting a media course and will be editing lots of photos/audio/video, then a cheap €500 laptop would be useless. There are lots of other factors to consider. Is that 17” screen really neccessary? Sure, the big viewing space is nice, but large high-definition screens increase the cost. Would a or 15” not be fine? Find the sweet spot that works for you.


A word for gamers: Gaming laptops are expensive, big, and heavy (some can be VERY heavy). Every year, I see students breaking their backs lugging these bulky machines around college – yet they’re mostly using those laptops to run text-editing software and web browsers. They don’t have time to play games in college. If you’re someone who’s really into gaming, it’s likely you already have a pretty sweet desktop PC at home. Why bother spending huge money on a gaming laptop? If gaming-on-the-go is that important to you, buy a Steam Deck.


Know your budget before you begin. All colleges and universities in Ireland have computers in labs that students can use. If your budget is falling short of getting a machine that matches your requirements, you might be better off buying nothing at all. Use the computers in the college for a few months while you save up more money to buy the right machine.


Things Not to Do

Don’t Spend Less Than €600

Cheap low-end machines are a waste of time. To be honest, I’d be reluctant to spend less than €700 on a laptop at this stage, but you might find a good deal on sale in the €600-700 range. By all means, you can find machines that cost less but you’re just creating a load of hassle for yourself. If you don’t have €700 to spend, you’d be better off saving up until you do. I’ll probably repeat this shortly.


Don’t Be a Slave to Specs

The numbers are important (e.g., processor speed, memory size), but they’re not the only things when it comes to computers. Also, specs often need context. For example, over the past few years, I’ve had PC junkies deride the base-model MacBook Air because it “only” has 8GB of RAM while they boast about having 32GB of RAM in their Windows machines. However, they’re not comparing like-for-like and don’t really understand how memory is used in a computer. The vanilla MacBook Air is a fantastic computer and is a great option for a huge number of university students (so are loads of Windows laptops, by the way). If you’re considering a particular machine, look up reviews of it online. You might be impressed that something has 32GB of RAM and seems like a bargain – but you might be unimpressed when reviews tell you the processor is slow and drags everything else down. Specs are just measurements – it’s about getting the best set of components that work well together.


Don’t Be Dazzled by Hype

Yes, the MacBooks are lovely, and nobody does marketing like Apple. But does that mean you need one? At the time of writing, the cheapest MacBook Air is selling for €1,249 on Apple Ireland’s Education store. That’s still expensive! If you’re only going to be using Office software, then a €700 Windows machine might be a better option. Equally, I see a lot of ads now about “Next-gen AI” laptops. To me, this seems like pure hype and marketing fluff. This article is already long enough without me getting into Artificial Intelligence. Suffice it to say there’s an important set of technologies there, but also a huge amount of smoke and mirrors.


Cheap Machines Are Paperweights

(Here comes to repeat!) Every year, I see 1st-year students with laptops that were bought on sale in the middle aisle of a large supermarket. These can seem cheap (under €500) and are often bought by a well-meaning parent (or grandparent). The problem is they’re nearly always useless, certainly for any process-intensive activity (like building software or editing RAW photographs). The build materials are usually nasty too and they break easily. Steer clear of these. They’ll end up as paperweights, and you’ll have to save up for something better.


Don’t Fall For Student Software Deals

I’m not trying to bash the IT industry, and salespeople are only doing their job when they try to upsell software bundles to go along with your new laptop, but students don’t need them. That antivirus subscription? There are plenty of free alternatives. The Student Microsoft Office 365 deal – chances are the university provides it to students as part of their registration anyway! Besides, student offers on software are available all the time and can be found online. You don’t need to make a pressured purchase in the shop (whether a brick-and-mortar building or an online store).


Chromebooks Are Useless

Don’t – just don’t. I know there are whole schools in the United States that give out Chromebooks to all students. I’d still recommend avoiding them. I’ve yet to see a student with a Chromebook who wasn’t trying to bin it. Just say no.

Stay Away from Windows S-Mode

Windows 11 is an excellent operating system, but for some reason Microsoft decided to release a hobbled version that often comes on laptops in Back-to-School deals. Windows S-mode can only install applications directly from the Microsoft store, meaning a massive amount of open-source or free tools can’t be used. Also, from a techie perspective S-mode makes a large number of settings unavailable. It’s incredibly annoying. If you’re getting a Windows machine, go for the full-fat version and avoid the pain-in-the-hole S-mode.


Don’t Rush In

This is the bit that will get me barred from electronics superstores. Maybe the student don’t need a laptop at all? For example, does someone taking a course who’ll only use Word for writing essays and Powerpoint for some presentations really need their own laptop? There’s plenty of usable machines in computer labs in every university in Ireland. Or maybe the student in your life doesn’t need a laptop …. yet. Why not let them find their feet for a month or two and figure out exactly what you need (gathering those requirements). They can talk with their lecturers about what their requirements might be and the kind of software they’re likely to run. This is certainly the case if a student is in one of my classes. I love spending time in the lab exploring this stuff. In the meantime, you might have saved some extra money to increase the budget, and you can make a more informed choice down the road.


Specific Recommendations

Finally, here are a few laptop recommendations. I’ve based this list on current prices in Ireland and picked a few laptops that seem to be worth considering. I’m trying to list different machines that match different requirements and budgets. It’s my intention to periodically update this list (last updated 30th August 2024):


MacBook Air M2 13”

Good for: pretty much anyone with the money to spend. Can quietly handle most tasks

The Macbook Air is a fantastic computer. It’s powerful, light, quiet, has sturdy build quality and spectacular battery life. The base model currently comes with an M2 chip and 8GB of RAM and costs €1129 on the Apple’s Irish Education Store (you might find it cheaper elsewhere). It can be bought more cheaply in the US, just watch out for taxes. If you have the budget, the M3 models are better, but the M2 is probably fine for 80% of students. I bought my wife an M1 Macbook Air two and a half years ago and it’s still going strong. She’s a Humanities lecturer so mostly uses Office tools and some video editing software. We got 6 years out of her last one – this is a brilliant machine.

Surface Pro 11

Good for: pretty much anyone with the money to spend, but hates Apple.
Microsoft has quietly become a premium laptop powerhouse. Many of my colleagues use Surface machines and they’ve all had good experiences. The Surface Pro 11 is a hybrid device, serving as both a laptop and touch screen tablet. You can also get a pen if you’re keen on pseudo-handwriting. The lowest spec one with a 10-core Snapdragon X Plus chip starts at €1229, so it’s not cheap. Personally, I’d think the Macbook Air is a better device but there are people out there who dislike Mac OS. If that’s the case and you have the budget, the Surface Pro 11 is worth a look.

ASUS Vivobook 16

Good for: student who needs a reliable machine on a budget
ASUS make some good machines. The Vivobook 16 gets lots of good reviews so I’m willing to go with that. A couple of years ago, I bought an earlier Vivobook model for my niece going off to the college and it’s worked out fine. You can expect to spend around €700 on one of these (depending on the spec). You might pick one up on sale is you look around too.

LENOVO Yoga Slim 6 14″

Good for: student who needs a reliable machine on a budget. Has slightly more to spend than the ASUS
Lenovo have a good rep for well-built machines. They can take a knock or two, but aren’t too bulky and easy to carry around. You’d be looking at around €800(ish) for one of these – but you might find a model on sale somewhere.

A Computer Is Just a Tool

Buying a laptop can be a daunting task – for many people it might be their first “big” purchase. A computer is incredibly useful when someone is getting into serious academic pursuits. I couldn’t imagine working without one – but then again, I’m a computer science lecturer! However, it’s important to remember, it won’t do the work for you. A computer is just a tool. A student still needs to turn up for class, engage with their material, read around the subject and use their brain to think. A good laptop might make it a bit easier to get those thoughts from their head into the outside world – that’s really the best you can hope for.

Epilogue: For what it’s worth, I use a Macbook Pro 14” M3, which was bought by my employer in April of 2024. It’s a compact beast of a machine – I use it daily for audio recording/editing, coding and lately I’ve been running local large language models for some AI research. If you have the money, these are absolutely savage – however, you’re looking at around €2500. I don’t know many students with that kind of cash to spend!

Five Podcasts to Help You Learn About Computing & Technology

I learn a lot from listening. There’s nothing profound in that short sentence – it’s a pretty obvious statement actually. Whether through real-life conversations, radio programmes or podcasts, I’ve always found audio to be a fantastic medium through which information can be absorbed. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a new student, a seasoned professional or somewhere in between – everyone can learn something new every day.

Staying on top of technology and computing news can be daunting. Things change constantly and new developments are always on the horizon. The life-cycle of new technologies can be incredibly short – sometimes things can go from being novel and exciting to discontinued incredibly quickly (here’s looking at you Quibi)

With that in mind, here are five recommendations of technology podcasts you can digest in your own time to help you navigate the technology currents and stay afloat. Hopefully you might enjoy these while out for a walk, cleaning up the kitchen, sitting on a bus or wherever you listen to audio. There’s no shortage of tech podcasts available, but these are one I regularly listen to, so can personally vouch for their high quality.

The VergeCast

The flagship tech podcast from the Vox media group (their words!). Hosted by Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn (with a revolving cast of side characters), this weekly podcast takes a wry and irreverent look at computing and gadget news. Episodes typically last 1hr 15mins in duration, though they often go past the 1hr 30 mark. It’s always divided up into chunks though, so if you just want to hear them review the latest phone or tech gadget, you can usually skip the first 30 minutes.

ReplyAll

A beast in the world of technology podcasts. Produced by Gimlet Media, ReplyAll has been going since 2014. They mostly cover internet technologies, but always from a human angle. Hosts Alex Goldman and Emmanuel Dzotsi are total pros and are always easy to listen to. Since they have such a huge archive, the producers have created a handy “New Listeners” guide, highlighting some of the best jumping off points. Episode 79 (Boy in the Photo) is particularly good. There’s an element of mystery to that one, so I’ll say nothing and let you experience it spoiler-free.

Upgrade/Clockwise

OK, this is two podcasts rather than one, but they’re from the same gene pool, both produced by Relay FM. If you want to get a handle on the latest gadgets, apps and services, these are well worth a listen. Clockwise’s format is where the 4 person panel discuss 4 tech topics in 30 minutes. It definitely has a very American feel and they tend to focus on the Apple ecosystem a lot. If you’re busy, this is definitely the one to check out (I usually catch Clockwise each week).

Upgrade is a deeper dive covering similar topics and episodes can last up to 90 minutes. They’re both well produced and easy to listen to, whatever your own level of technical knowledge. 

If I was to make a criticism, it’d be that there’s a lot of faffing about at the start of episodes – the radio producer part of my brain wants them to cut the waffle and get to the good stuff earlier. However, this seems to be a feature of many podcasts and Relay FM aren’t alone here.

The Digital Human

The Digital Human is a BBC Radio 4 production that discusses social aspects of techno-culture. Aleks Krotoski (PhD) and the production team usually take an abstract topic and explore how it is impacted by technology. For example, one memorable episode explored the concept of “getting lost” and how mapping technology has removed the random factors of wandering around a new city, trying to find a place of interest. If you’re following a line on a screen, you’re not looking around you and perhaps missing some unexpected gems. I absolutely ADORE this series as it prompts me to question technology from different perspectives.

One of my all time favourite episodes of The Digital Human was ‘Devotion’ about TempleOS which unexpectedly turned into a mini-thesis on operating systems, religion and the divine elegance of good design: 

“When a homeless man was killed by a train on 11/08/18 in The Dalles, Oregon, no-one realised how many people it would effect. He was Terry Davis, and he was on a mission from God.”

The Digital Human is produced in series batches and broadcast on BBC Radio 4. However, most listeners outside the UK (such as me!) will enjoy it as a podcast on BBC Sounds or their preferred podcast app.

The Machine

Naturally, when recommending tech podcasts, I’d include our own one, geared specifically towards computer science education! The Machine is produced internally in WIT, where a bunch of faculty members (hosted by yours truly) discuss topics related to computing and technology, such as programming, AI, Big Data, etc. The conversations are targeted at tech novices, so we don’t assume a huge amount of prior knowledge before listening. That said, we also seem to have a decent audience amongst technology professionals, so hopefully that means the conversations are both accessible and reasonably deep. 

The Machine is a bit sporadic in its output as everyone contributes to this in their spare time. We aim to release six episodes per semester, but it doesn’t always work out that way. Last year, more episodes than expected were produced, whereas we’re behind this year. Can I still blame the global pandemic??? 😜

The Machine is available on pretty much every podcast platform. It probably the best tech podcast produced at 3rd Level in Ireland (I may be biased in my pronouncement)

Pop In Those Earbuds

All of these are pretty much general purpose computing podcasts. If you need something that’s a bit more focussed or specific to a technology, there’s probably a podcast for that too. For example, when I was first learning Kotlin a few years back, I found JetBrain’s Talking Kotlin podcast very useful, but you’re really getting into niche listening there. 

Obviously, these podcasts are not meant as a substitute for real-life conversations, but we don’t always have fellow geeks around to talk tech in person. Next time you’re alone and seeking some brain food of the technology variety, pop in those earbuds and give one of these podcasts a whirl. If you find any of these worthwhile or have any recommendations yourself, I’d love to hear about it – drop me a line on Twitter @roboconnor_irl

Falling Down a Pi-hole

As part of a 4th year module, some students and I performed some test on Pi-hole, a network level ad blocker for your LAN. We wrote a short article about the experience and published it on Medium.

You’ll find the original piece here, but I’ll copy it after the jump to keep things handy for myself on the blog! Written by Andrew Brennan, Gianluca Zuccarelli and myself (they did most of the work BTW!)

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The Machine Podcast – Walton Institute

Last week, we published an episode of The Machine podcast all about The Walton Institute, which is the new name for the TSSG research group in WIT. I’m proud o say that once upon a time, I worked with these folks (and completed an MSc by Research there). I’ve tried to keep up with their activities, though it’s become increasingly difficult as the years go by – mostly because the group has grown so much.

The TSSG originally had a telecommunications and networks focus, which was the area I largely worked in. However, over the years they’ve broadened to include all aspects of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and more importantly, lead some ground breaking cross-disciplinary research.

The Walton Institute isn’t just a renaming – it reflects the change in ICT research over the past 20 years and how the folks are looking towards a wider future. I’m very enthusiastic about this. I get a kick out of seeing how computing technology can be applied to other areas in a positive fashion. Are the results always for the better? No! However, I firmly believe that when people actually think about problems, we can come up with innovative solutions. What can I say, I’m an optimist.

Anyway, I enjoyed the chat with co-directors Sasitharan Balasubramaniam and Kevin Doolin who’s enthusiasm is infectious – for research and the opportunities for the South East.

This week, I’m recording an episode with some TSSG/Walton staff members about Virtual Reality and Augment Reality, so that’ll be proper geeky.

Lockdown Coding for Kids

During the mid-term break last week, a few friends were in touch seeking some advice on coding activities to keep their children occupied while they were no longer home-schooling but still hanging around the house. I’ve sent out versions of this via WhatsApp to people, so I figured it might be a good idea to get this down on virtual paper so someone else might stumble across it and find it useful. Regardless of mid-term or home schooling, some of this might be useful for kids starting out with some computer programming.

Normally, I’d recommend checking out your local Coder Dojo, but that’s probably not an option at the moment. All of the resources I’ll recommend here are free and readily available. All you’ll need is an internet connection and a computer or new-ish tablet to work from.

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