When Should You Buy Your Kid A Laptop?

GuitarNeophyte writes "Marketwatch News reports that some people say that we should be buying our kids laptop computers well before they get into the higher education realm. Even as early as middle school. From the article: 'These days, it's almost unquestioned that college-bound students will tote laptops back to school. For parents of high school and middle school kids, the decision to invest in a laptop is far from given.'"

Comments

Re:Worked for me

[crimethinker]

unless you're a computer science major

So you're one of the bastards that made it impossible to hear the prof over the clicky-clicky of the damn keyboards!

10+ years ago, I had CS classes where some 20% of the class took "notes" on their craptops, and the sound of keyboards was almost deafening. I wish the prof had instituted a policy much like you hear about today with cell phones: "you can bring it, but I better not hear it." (My father's policy was "if your phone rings in my class, I'll answer it for you." He had to do that about once per semester, and then everybody learned.)

For the bazillionth time, computers do not equal learning any more than a straight-edge, a T-square, and a protractor make you an architect. Buying your kid a craptop will not make them get good grades in school, especially if you send them to a shitty government school where "everybody is special" and "we don't use emotionally-biased words like 'fail' in this school."

-paul

Re:Worked for me

[Drakonite]

Guess what, there are more than a few of us out there that only need to listen to part of a lecture to learn whats going on, but because of all the dumbasses out there I have to waste the time I paid for sitting and waiting for the teacher to finish hand feeding everyone else before I can move on or leave.

Would you rather I got up and left in the middle of a lecture? I think not, and in most environments they wouldn't be too happy to let you do so on a regular basis either.

The real problem is, if someone on a laptop is distracting you then maybe you should start fucking pay attention instead of looking over someone else's shoulder to see what they are doing. They aren't distracting you, you are looking for a distraction as an excuse.

So fuck you, if I want to play solitare while the teacher is hand feeding the dumbasses, I'll play solitare while the teacher is hand feeding the dumbasses. Quit looking over my shoulder and do your own damn work and we'll both be better off.

Never

[hesiod]

Let the little fuckers work for their toys!