Once she reaches highschool you will most likely find that you will have to pay for one from the school. Some schools rent them to you or you can buy them outright but you cant have one that you have purchased from the shops as the ones from the school have all the school programs and such preloaded.

ANyway….Just a thought…there are now tablets that you can connect to a keyboard which gives you the best of both worlds. That could be an option.

My hubby and I just bought new laptops and we bought Asus. I think they are great and can add software to them

Most schools are using apple. The mac book pro is great for projects, slide shows etc

I’d by the absolute cheapest thing you can find, she really doesn’t need bells and whistles and computers don’t bounce! My uni student daughter’s expensive mac can vouch for that 😉

In terms of setting up the internet I recommend you set up Parental Controls to allow particular sites she can visit rather than to disallow styles of sites. That way you know exactly what she can see. The best filters still allow inappropriate content through because its impossible to keep up with what is out there in Cyberspace.

Do you know what type of software she needs to run on the laptop for school (is she just using microsoft word/office suite and a web browser, or is there more specialist software she’s using like photoshop)? The type of laptop/PC should reflect the the software she is/will be using. Different programs/software have different computing needs (storage space, RAM, etc.), and you may need to buy to suit. You can find out the needs (specifications) of software on the box, or via the manufacturer’s website (or google). These specifications are the minimum the software needs to be usable on the computer, so use them as your guide!

If she’s only using microsoft office programs and a web browser, go for something at the cheaper end of the scale (around $500 at most-ish). The processor is the main item you’re purchasing when you buy a computer – everything else can be upgraded fairly cheaply – so choose wisely. Intel are probably the best on lower end computers. You should be able to run most programs on 2GB RAM (the more RAM you have, the faster the computer can load programs). Hard drive storage space is up to you (most seem to come with 250-500GB nowadays), as is video card specifications (realistically, you only need a fancy video card for specialist programs like photoshop or if you’re into gaming).

As for the software like microsoft publisher, you can buy them separately and load them (microsoft have free mini versions on their website you can download of some of the office suite – they don’t have all the functions, though.) Otherwise buy a package deal from somewhere like Dell.com.au, or go to a store like JB Hifi and ask them what they can do for laptop + MS Office package. Or, go to a specialist store like umart (umart.com.au) or GameDude and discuss your needs with them!

AND, make sure you get the webcam disabled (or at least know how to do it yourself if she needs it for something like skype – or at a minimum cover it with duct tape/masking tape when not in use). Hackers have been known to remotely login to a laptop and upload photos/video from a laptop’s webcam.

I personally would go for a HP or Asus.
Most come with Microsoft office but are trials you need to purchase the software. There is a free software package you can get online which works with other software such as Microsoft office you just need to make sure the document saves as a specific file type(can’t remember ATM sorry) but its called OpenOffice.org it is used mostly on Ubuntu which isn’t popular anymore as an operating system.

Once you get the computer for Internet purposes I remove Internet explorer and I use Firefox with that I get extensions and block all adds, pop ups and I also have a child block it blocks all porno, and other inappropriate pages. Which i would recommend. Can remember when we were young trying to get onto ninemsn to check hotmail we accidentally did a instead of s… It wasn’t good. But it’s easy to do.

Also being that windows 8 (unless you get a mac) being only available windows OS you will need to customise it for her I doubt she will need half the apps on it. Sister got laptop recently and there’s alot of stuff it comes with that is unnecessary

Definitely Apple if you have the money. If the budget is too stretched, Harvey Norman has always been wonderful for me with my windows laptops. They accept it happily when you show them the receipt for any problems and repair them without too much cost involved. A laptop which will last her till year 8, so nothing with a huge screen or too small of a screen. Generally you can get the software pre-installed on the system. Try to get a windows 7 system with Microsoft office student installed if not going with Apple.

Consider a desktop in a central area so you can supervise internet access.

We got my son a Mac Air as they use a lot of Apple products at our school. Compatability was the most important thing to us.

If you give me your budget, I can have a look for one for you as I own an IT business and I won’t put a lot of margin on it like the shops do however in saying that, the laptops that I can get are sometimes more expensive then your Dick Smiths etc as they are not the same ones as in the shops. The brands I can get are HP, Acer, Asus, Sony, Samsung, Toshiba (great brand), etc

Apples r always good for longevity and value for money. And they rarely get virus’s.

PS: oo.com & topbuy often have sales of refurbished comouters. good luck

It depends what kind of budget you’re on but I would definitely recommend an apple. I’ve always had one and the only reason I’ve ever gotten a new one is because I like new shiny things 😛 I’ve bashed them around and they still work perfectly. Their techs are also extremely helpful if anything does go wrong and their warranty is great.

I purchased a refurbished Toshiba for my kids, it came with everything they need & hasn’t been any problem. The only addition I make is to pay for studyladder each year & then divide the time so the 4 of them get time on it – we don’t play games & they have to have my express permission before going onto youtube. They’re all under 12 so none of them has facebook, they keep up with their friends (who do have it) on mine.

Check with her school for recommendations

U can also get them to block all inappropriate sites. Because its very easy to stumble upon material that’s very inappropriate on google

i just have a little HP mini netbook and all of my school ages kids have done their homework on it. one is in year 11 at high school the others are grade 5 and 6 at primary, and for the price its just perfect.its also nice and compact so fits easily in a smaller bag so you dont need to buy an expensive laptop bag either. the netbook cost me around $300 so excellent value i think. hope this helps

I prefer hp with Microsoft office but my kids use apple at school

Go to dick smith and ask for a laptop with all the software already installed.

My daughter has a Toshiba she’s had since she was 10 (she’s now 12) and it’s been great. A little more expensive than some, but we used the school kids bonus to get it for her.