Growing up in this age of technology, high school students generally own some type of portable computer. The renowned devices include netbooks, laptops, and Macs. Each one has their own perks and flaws. Which ones do students at West High prefer? Well, their preference is based on several factors which distinguish the three apart.

   With a netbook, students are presented with portability and great convenience of being able to use the device anywhere they would like. Its small and sleek design typically allows users to carry it with minimum difficulty. However, Jason Zheng (11) described its downfalls with, “Netbooks are slow and terrible for anything but light internet browsing.” But if you’re a light-browsing student, netbooks are perfect for your needs especially if you are looking for a cheaper device.

   Although laptops are more expensive than the general netbook, there are several benefits, which cause some students to prefer laptops. Whereas, netbooks lack power and performance, the laptop does not shy from it. Zheng stated, “I prefer a laptop because I’m used to Windows and prefer the power of a laptop.” Additionally, laptops have great gaming features. According to Larry Lin (11), “netbooks are terrible for playing games and Macs are incompatible with many games.” Financially, laptops are often pricier than netbooks.

    While netbooks are ideal for casual enjoyment and laptops are better suited for heavier gaming experiences, Macs take into account a much wider variety of the dimension of multimedia and customization to the user’s convenience. According to David Wayman (12), a Mac is more compatible with games than Lin earlier stated, “my Mac gets all my gaming needs in, as Portal and World of Warcraft work on my Mac.” Additionally, Wayman stated that the Mac has Windows offers on most laptops as “Whenever I need Windows, I have it partitioned on my hard drive, so I could just boot up into Windows to use a program or something that is Windows exclusive.”

   Yet what makes the Mac really special is not its advantage to work with several operating systems such as Windows 7, OSX, and Linux, but its distinguished nature from the netbook and laptop are the multimedia features of the Mac. Wayman commented that Macs are great for individuals who work with “artistic” dimensions. For example, Wayman constantly works with filming and editing clips that he uses his Mac’s Final Cut program extensively, which is only operative on the OSX system of Macs. However, a major concern for Macs is that they are expensive with prices that range into the thousands.

   With all their advantages and disadvantages, netbooks, laptops, and Macs are all different in their own way. For netbook users, convenience and light usage are preferred. Laptop users tend to lean towards the delivery and power. Mac users have a wide variety of multimedia as well as efficient power and extensive features as it can use Windows 7 features as well. The decision comes down to the type of student you are.