Laptops in 2012: Evolution, but Not Always in a Good Way

Over the last 12 months, significant changes have occurred to warrant a reassessment of my recommendations for laptops for students.  Let’s look first at the PC business and then I will discuss Macs.

PCs:

The price of a very good laptop that I would recommend has fallen to $600 (down from $700 a year)—that is very good news.  There are good laptops for $550 (see Dell).  I would still away from the laptops under $400.  The PC industry should be ashamed of itself for offering laptops with Pentium Processors because the battery life and overall performance are abysmal.  I think an i3 processor, 4g of RAM, and a 500g hard drive is the bare minimum.

AMD has not offered laptop processor that can match Intel’s products in performance and price.  Stay away from AMD and Intel’s atom processors, and you will thank me every time you boot your computer.  I’m still hoping AMD can somehow offer a competitive product that does not scrap the bottom of performance measurements time after time, but that has not happened yet.  Intel is the superior product in terms of price/performance.  If it does not have the Intel sticker, do not purchase it.

Netbooks do not make sense anymore.  A good netbook will cost $500.  For $50 more you will get a quality laptop that should last you four years.  AMD’s Vision processor gave netbooks a little boost in performance, but they remain even more obsolete than they were a year ago.  The quality of netbooks has been dreadful.  Just pick one up and you can feel the cheap materials from which they are built.  Please don’t waste your money.

The flash drives that are appearing on laptops don’t have enough memory.  A 128g hard drive is just too small.  The 256g model is still not enough.  I have no doubt that flash drives are the future, but until an affordable 500g flash drive comes along, just sit it out.  For education, you need hard drive space.  I would go with a 750g hard drive if you could afford it.  I like the 7200 rpm versions better, a bit faster with only a small drain on battery life.

 

Macs:

Apple discontinued the White MacBook, the laptop that I considered the best overall laptop for a student.  The company replaced the only sub $1000 laptop with an ultra light model with a slow processor and a small flash drive.  Sorry, I think Steve Jobs made a serious mistake.  The only Apple laptop under a $1000 is now a MacBook Air that is a lightweight in every sense of the word and will not suit the performance need of a student for four years of college.  A 128g hard drive (up from 64g at the beginning of last year!) is a joke.  And a 11-inch screen will get really annoying really quick.  Student will have large video files that they will need to work with and this computer cannot handle it.  The only Mac alternative is a 13 inch MacBook Pro, which cost $1200.  Unfortunately, that is the minimum recommendation for a Mac laptop that I can in good conscious give for a student.  Yes, it is twice the price of my minimum purchase recommendation for a PC.  If my white MacBook dies tonight, I would probably seek to purchase a used 13 inch MacBook Pro to cut down on costs.  If you really want a Mac, I suggest you do the same, but only through the Apple Store Online.  Apple offers a full warranty on its used laptops.

Although I am a big fan of Apple, I hesitate to recommend a Mac unless you have a lot of money to spend on a laptop.  In their vision of the future, Apple is forgetting that few students have $1,200 to spend.  A desktop Mac mini is excellent, but it is not a laptop.

Would a $500 iPad suffice?  No.  It is a handy tool, but not a laptop replacement.  I don’t own one.  I’ll see what the new model will look like in February before I make a decision to buy one.  Students need Microsoft Office and other professional program that don’t work on the Apple tablet.   Tablets compliment a good laptop.  Please remember that when the “cool” factors hits you at the Apple Store like it does me every time I visit one, let reason prevail.  The tablet has its place, but you still need a real computer.   A tablet as a serious laptop replacement is still in the future. You will need a real keyboard to do serious work.   I am cheering Apple on to finally come up with a practical replacement to the keyboard.  I don’t see one yet.

 

Do Netbooks Make Sense For Students in 2011?

By George S. Pabis, Ph.D.

Netbooks entice us with a cheap price–as low as $199.

If you pick up a $199 netbook at a store you will notice that manufacturers make them out of cheap plastic.  The 10-inch notebooks look so portable, but the keyboards are smaller as a result.  If you are seriously considering purchasing one of these cheap netbooks, please spend at least fifteen minutes typing on them.  You may find out that they are in reality unusable in real world circumstances, like a classroom.  The netbooks with a single Intel atom processors are awful. They are good for checking email and facebook and taking notes, but any program that requires real processing power, like running a video, will make you hate them.

From earlier blog post you already know that I am not at all impressed with 15-inch laptops at the $500 price level.  They run hot, have low battery life, and usually weigh a lot.  I have handled at least a dozen of them at various stores and they all feel poorly made.  I’m not sure they would last a year in a student’s backpack.

Netbooks at the $500 level do look interesting.  The new AMD fusion netbooks with a dual processor and a good graphic card built in the processor are decent computers.  I handled the HP AMD Fusion model with a 11.5 inch screen and I thought it was a decent computer with a lovely LED screen.  From reviews I have read, the AMD Fusion models can run video and even play simple games.  They still have the excellent battery life and weight about 3 lbs, which is very portable. However, you have to pay $549 for that power.  I think the higher price is worth it.  Unlike the Intel Atom netbooks which had a limit of 2 Gigs of RAM imposed by Microsoft, the AMD Fusion netbooks can handle as much as 8 gigs of RAM.  Intel is also planning to release dual Atom processors with better graphics, so netbooks continue to improve in performance.  My suspicion is that they will be higher in price as well.

Should you purchase a $549 netbook if you can buy a very good laptop for $100 more?  A laptop at the $649 price level most likely be a 15 inch model that weighs 5-6 lbs.  If you want a powerful laptop that weighs less, you are going to pay $1000 or more.    The new generation of netbooks with dual processors and better graphics are a good buy for students. They will easily fit into a backpack and run Microsoft Office without a problem.  They are powerful enough to run streaming video from the web, something the single Intel Atom processor could not do consistently.  As with any purchase, go to the store and handle on of these new generations of netbooks.  I think you are going to be impressed by what you see.

E-Books in 2011: It continues to be all good. By George S. Pabis, Ph.D.

Colleges must embrace e-books because students are already doing so.

I can hear the disagreements already.  Who wants to stare at a small, bright screen?  But e-ink technology does not play video well?  Who wants to abandon the exploratory experience of visiting a bookstore and having a cup of coffee surrounded by the great literature of the ages?

The answer is me and most of my students.  We want to have the great literature of the ages in our pocket.  And the literature published before 1923 is free.  Shakespeare, Austin, and Dickens are available free.  Let’s say it again: the great works of literature are free!

The emergence of e-books is a revolution in the making.  Apple’s iPad with its 9.7 inch high resolution screen allows students to purchase textbooks and see them in color.  Publishers should be cheering–No more competition from used books.  Students should be cheering–They don’t have to carry a heavy load of textbooks all day.  And that device that will be make this all happen can also browse the internet, take class notes, and play games. The new Kindle has dropped in price to $139, which is the cost of one textbook for one class in college.  Amazon has just pushed an update that will finally allow for standard pagination–the page number on the Kindle will be the same as the paper edition of a book.  The new NOOKcolor has a bright, crisp display that will satisfy those that demand a color screen, and the NOOKcolor sells for $259, well below the cheapest $499 iPad.  I really like the NOOKcolor, although I don’t own won yet.  Or you could just use your smartphone.  The choices are growing in number and quality.

Yes, there are still issues.  Every image or table on the Kindle or NOOKcolor should be allowed to be enlarged.  Prices for multifunction devices like the iPad are still high. Other tablets are being sold have an even high price.

Most publisher have already embraced e-books.  Colleges should give every student an e-book reader as part of their technology fee.  Let’s work together to solve any issues, and let student finally leave those huge backpacks at home.

What Laptop Should a Student Purchase in 2011? By George S. Pabis, Ph.D.

My recommendations for the minimal specs on a laptop in 2011 are:

1. Operating System: Windows 7 or OS X Snow Leopard.
2. Processor: Intel I3 or better
3. RAM: 4 gigs.
4. Video: NVidia 320M integrated graphics or dedicated graphics card.
5. LED Screen: 13-15 inches.
6. Hard Drive: 320 gigs or more.
7. Wireless: 802.11n.
8. Weight: less than 6 pounds.
9. Battery: 3 hours or more of life.
10. Manufacturers: Asus, Dell, Lenovo, Sony, or Apple.
11. Price for Windows laptop: at least $700.
12. Price for Apple Laptop: at least $1000.

Please remember that students need a quality computer that will last them for four years of college or more and will have enough processing power to run all the programs that they potentially may need.

Processors

What processor should my laptop come with?  Stick with Intel processors.  Here’s why:

Intel i3, i5 or i7, Sandy Bridge coming in March

Strengths:

1. Powerful enough to run any software.
2. More powerful than comparable AMD processors for the same money.
3. Relatively low power consumption.
4. Two or more cores allow you to run many programs at once with ease.
5. Available on computers from nearly all manufacturers.
6. i5 and i7 are the latest Quad Cores, which are great for video editing.
7. New i3 and i5 chips are low energy.  Get the new Sandy Bridge Intel Processors when they are reissued in March.

AMD Processors

Strengths:

1. Cheaper than most Intel processors.
2. Top of the line processors are good for gaming.

Weaknesses:

1. Generally slower than comparable Intel Processors.
2. They run hotter than Intel processors and use more battery.
3. Not available with all computer manufacturers.

The following processors are just too slow:

1. Intel Atom.
2. Intel Pentium.
3. Intel Celeron.
4. AMD Sempron.
5. VIA processors.

RAM

• 4 gigs will run most programs smoothly.  Find a laptop that can be upgradable to 8 gigs.
• Video and photograph programs may demand more.
• Almost all laptops allow you to add more RAM easily after your purchase.
• Ram prices fluctuate almost daily.
• Purchase RAM cheaply from Newegg, Fry’s, TigerDirect, or Amazon.
• Brand name of the RAM does not matter.
• Just be careful to buy the correct RAM for your particular computer so check the manual that came with your laptop.

Graphic Cards

• Do not purchase a laptop with older Intel integrated graphics because they are too slow.  The new Intel Sandy Bridge processors have a much improved integrated graphics, but they will not be out until March.
• A laptop with NVIDIA’s 320M integrated video card works well for most software that a student will run.
• Dedicated graphic cards provide the best video performance.
• If you plan to play the newest games and edit video, then you will need a dedicated graphic card.
• Dedicated graphics cards are more expensive and use more energy, which decreases battery life.

Screen Size

• 17-inch screen: Good for graphics and video editing, but too big and heavy for most students.
• 15-inch screen:  The best compromise between size and usability.
• 14-inch screen: less common than other sizes.  Very usable.
• 13-inch screen: More portable, screens are still quite usable.
• 12-inch screen is a bare minimum.
• 11-inch Macbook Air is usable, but prolonged use may be painful.
• 10-inch screen: These screens appear on netbooks, which are not made for serious computer work.
• LED screens are brighter and use less electricity.
• Remember, on most laptops, you can connect a huge monitor at home or in your dorm room.

Hard Drive

• Get at least a 320 gig hard drive on a laptop.
• With hard drive prices falling, try to get 500 gigs or more.
• I would get a 7200 rpm hard drive if possible.  A bit more heat, but the speed improvement is noticeable.
• Microsoft Word documents take little space, but photos are much larger and videos gobble up memory.
• As with RAM, most laptops will allow you to upgrade your hard drive later with ease.
• Solid State Drives are too expensive at this point.  If you really want one, go with the 128 gig, which is about $250. However, Solid State Drives will be the drives of the future, but give it a few years.  You can always upgrade to one latter when the prices drop.

Wireless

• Make sure your laptop supports 802.11n.
• Most wireless hot spots are still “g,” but “n” is the new standard.
• Your home router should support “n.”

Weight

• The lightest laptop computers weigh about 3 pounds, but they are expensive and usually do not have a DVD drive.  I think a DVD drive is still a necessity for a student.
• Try not to go over 6 pounds.  4 pounds is the sweet spot.
• The larger the screen, the bigger and heavier the laptop.

Battery

• A standard laptop battery (6 cell) should last about 3 hours if managed correctly–keep screen brightness to a medium setting.
• Bigger batteries (9 cell) can add another hour, but they also weigh more, and they are bulky.
• The new Apple laptops have batteries that last more than 5-6 hours, but they are not user replaceable.
• HP allows you to purchase polymer batteries that will last 7-8 hours.
• Being plugged in makes your laptop less portable, but many classrooms have plugs near desks so students can access them.  However, most older building on campuses do not have this option, so make sure you have a laptop that will get your through your school day.
• Manufacturers exaggerate battery life, so subtract an hour from whatever they tell you.
• Remember that the bigger the screen and the more powerful the video card and processor, the shorter the battery life.

Manufacturers

• Look at Consumer Reports, PC World, and the online PC Magazine for ratings.
• Apple, Lenovo, ASUS, and Sony are rated very high in quality.
• Dell is in the mid-range, and often represent the best bang for the buck.
• HP, Gateway, Toshiba and Acer are more at the low end for quality.  Good prices.
• If you opt for windows, consider the Microsoft Signature computers on their website.  They are optimized by Microsoft and really worth the little extra money.
• Panasonic’s Toughbooks are expensive, but they can be literally dropped from a desk and you can just go back to working on them.
• If you want to run OS X Snow Leopard, you have no choice but Apple, which is excellent in terms of quality.

Price

• Many manufacturers, including Dell and Apple, give an educational discount to students.
• You can find laptops with the minimal recommended specifications for $700 for Windows models and $1000 for Apple models.
• You get what you paid for.  Please don’t be tempted by $399 laptops.
• Consider extended warranties, which may cost extra.
• Consider by a refurbished Apple laptop on their website.

Online Library Guides

By Sherry Durren and Amelia Glawe

With the growth of applied technology, the library finds itself bridging the print and virtual worlds and participating in the implementation of innovative educational technologies. Librarians are discovering new ways to meet the needs of their patrons. Virtual reference services, placement in distance education courses through iCollege, outreach to online students, and production of instructional videos are some ways in which librarians are reaching out in effective and engaging ways. Online library research guides (known as “libguides”) have become particularly popular with librarians. Historically, librarians have created research guides or pathfinders to point patrons to the best resources for research. Now all this can be done online by essentially creating a “library in a box” with the Libguides product.

Libguides are a “web 2.0 content management and library knowledge sharing system” (SpringShare). They allow librarians to create “attractive multimedia content, share knowledge and information, and promote library resources to the community” (Springshare). Libguides are used for library instruction, classroom and assignment support, and collaboration between faculty and librarians. Libguides are easy to develop and work well for all skill levels from those with no web experience to those with extensive knowledge of HTML. The libguides community is composed of colleges and universities across the country. Some libraries, such as North Georgia College and State University and Bauder College, have libguides as their library home page.

Librarians frequently prepare libguides for library instruction classes in collaboration with faculty. Librarians will select the most suitable materials, and the structure of the guide may mirror that of the class or a specific assignment. Guides come with a friendly URL so students may easily refer back to them. During library instruction classes, the guides facilitate an interactive relationship between the librarian and the students, leading to a more engaging and ultimately more constructive class. Most class-specific guides include the following components: a welcome message, information about finding books, finding articles, evaluating websites, and preparing citations with many other add-ons. Libguides also contribute to a greener library because less paper is required.

Libguides are used for promotion of specific databases, services, books, events, and more. In addition to customized guides, librarians create generic guides. For example, we have generic guides about literary criticism that point students toward databases they need to explore their work or author. The librarian can create a link to a book or subject search in the GIL catalog. The link may contain information about the book and a picture of the book’s cover. With our large collection of electronic books, it’s important for students to know how to access these, especially our online students. If a librarian or a professor would like to highlight an event they may create an event box in the guide. These events can be associated with the school, with the subject or be of general interest.

Libguides give librarians a great way to promote library services. They can highlight such services as GILExpress or Intercampus Loans or show patrons how to use a high end database like ARTStor. Ask a Librarian Virtual Reference Service is promoted on every page with a chat widget (texting coming soon).  This places virtual reference services in an accessible, just-in-time spot. Libguide creators build a profile which is visible on all of their guides. Profiles may include contact information, the chat widget, a picture of the librarian (or the librarian’s pet!), and other interests. This lets users search for other guides by the same author. A photo included with contact information gives a stronger connection to students. Libguides “tend to humanize online research by putting staff photos and contact information front and center” (Ekart, 46). This humanization of online research can be especially helpful for distance education students and general library outreach.

Finally, libguides are used for collaboration and communication. Librarians like to collaborate with online faculty on specific assignments or classes. This fosters a stronger relationship between librarians and faculty and helps students feel more connected to the library. Libguides facilitate collaboration between library staff members. It’s now common practice for library committees and departments to use a libguide as a place for storing information/notes/documents/meeting minutes, etc. At Georgia Perimeter College with its multi-campuses, this has proven especially helpful as face-to-face meetings become more difficult.

Libguides are popular with librarians, staff, faculty, and students. GPC libraries now have 55 published guides. One librarian reported that 10 of her guides had been accessed 2,154 times from January until April 2010. A guide on College Research was viewed 344 times and the Lifelong Learning page on that guide had been viewed 106 times. Librarians and guide administrators can run statistics on the number of times guides were accessed, number of times sites were clicked, number of times databases were accessed from the guide, and more. This information is extremely valuable when assessing the value and needs of guides and users.

In conclusion, libguides provide a wealth of possibilities for librarians, students, faculty, and other library users. This “library in a box” is available to students at their convenience and our numbers show that serendipity plays a part in student access. They provide classroom assistance and assignment support and actually create a more engaging experience during library instruction classes. They offer options for promoting library services, appropriate databases, print and electronic collections, events, and virtual reference services. They encourage collaboration and communication between many groups on a common platform for the exchange of ideas and information. As the library finds itself, yet again, on the forefront of educational technology, tools such as libguides provide a way for the library to remain connected to its many communities of users.

References

Bushhousen, Ellie. “LibGuides”. Journal of the Medical Library Association. 97.1 (2009): 66-67. Information Science & Technology Abstracts. Galileo. Web. 22 March 2010

Ekart, Donna. “Tech Tips for Every Librarian”. Computers in Libraries. 29.4 (2009): 46-47.  Information Science and Technology Abstracts. Galileo. Web.  20 November 2009.

“Libguides.”Web 2 .0 for Library 2.0. SpringShare. n.d. web. 20 November 2009.

All this Online? Using Technology to Make Online Learning Interactive, Innovative and Appealing

By Angela Horton Gilleland

Distance learning has come a long way since the correspondence courses of the 1960’s, yet misconceptions persist that online classes are rigid and impersonal.   When I began teaching online in 2007 I was required to teach from a template.  While the template was chocked full of great information and activities, it left a lot to be desired when it came to appeal.  There was nothing that appealed to auditory learners within the template, and many pages of content were presented as flat, one-dimensional text.  The students were disinterested, bored!  Their academic performance was generally low.  The students participated in class only when it was required.  This was no “community of learners.” What’s more is that my face-to-face colleagues were skeptical that online classes could be conducted with any level of success; it is safe to say that I met a fair number of luddites along the way.  Over the years, I have reconfigured my course tackling the issues described using technology. With a little creativity educators can use technology to overcome the limitations associated with online learning.

Among some of the most common misconceptions associated with online courses is the idea that online learning is rigid, impersonal and students do not get the benefit of class discussions.  Through the use of online asynchronous discussion boards, I provide a number of ways for students to connect with each other, and discuss the subject matter. First, as part of their orientation, they are asked to participate in a discussion board which is designed to introduce everyone.  This not only shows students how the discussion boards will work, but allows them to get to know each other.  Using Wimba, this type of discussion could also be turned into a voice board discussion; now that’s personal!  Next, I provide an area within my course for students to socialize called the “Water Cooler” discussion board.  As a way of connecting with my students, I often post college announcements, and general interest comments to the Water Cooler.  A discussion area where students are urged to study together is also set aside within the course.   The lessons themselves contain topic specific discussion boards which require that students respond in a certain way to a specific prompt.  The assignments require the use of sources provided to substantiate their arguments.  I sometimes even require students to debate so that the conversation will continue.  What’s further is that since the content of a student’s post is graded, all students must contribute to the discussion.  In a typical face-to-face setting two to three students do most of the discussing.  Finally, time constraints of face-to-face learning prevent discussions from going into great detail. Some of my discussions last for two weeks; this is plenty of time to really delve into a topic!

Another commonly expressed reservation that my colleagues had about teaching online was that students would have to wait for answers to questions in this asynchronous environment. Within my course, I host a number of live classroom sessions using Wimba.  This gives students an opportunity to ask questions in a synchronous environment and receive immediate feedback. You can post power point presentations, etc., to Wimba for these sessions, or if you wish, you can turn on your webcam and talk to students face-to-face.  One great feature of Wimba Classroom is that if you teach more than one section of a course, the Live Classroom session can be linked to all of your courses so that you can “kill two birds with one stone.” Wimba Classroom is also really easy for students to use; they simply need speakers to hear the presentation. If they have a microphone, they can speak during the presentation as well.  If they do not have a microphone, they can simply type their questions in the chat window. In addition, Wimba classroom has an archive feature which will allow students to go back and view past live sessions.

Another limitation of teaching online is the limited appeal for auditory learners.  To combat this issue, I have incorporated audio into my course in a number of ways.  First, I have included several short lectures into each lesson within my course.  Studies have shown that it is not effective to give lengthy online lectures, but my 3-8 minute mini-lectures have proven to be very effective!  To create these lectures, I use PowerPoint to compose presentations, then record my lectures on top of the presentations using Camtasia.  I also make these mini-lectures available as podcasts for students who want portability.  Another way to incorporate audio into online classes is through Wimba Voice Authoring.  This technological feature allows instructors to record brief audio clips, then post them directly to the learning modules.  These audio components are easy for students to access. The slideshow mini-lectures and the voice authoring components play using software that students are asked to install when undergoing the basic set-up to run the online learning platform.  Students do need iTunes in order to download the podcasts, but this software is free!  Incorporating audio is great for students who are auditory learners, or who have low reading comprehension.  They are also effective for ESL students who may pick up on verbal cues better than written ones.

The issue of academic fairness and honesty in online education is something that online instructors wrangle with every day.  Skeptics of online learning ask, how can I be sure that the student enrolled is the student who completes the coursework? The truth is that you can’t be sure, but there are tools to help ensure academic integrity.  Turnitin.com  is one.  This is an academic integrity website for which your college would need a subscription.  It is very easy to use, and requires no additional software for students to run.  They simply turn their papers in via download, and Turnitin.com compares their essay with other student’s essays which are already in the database, as well as with internet sources. Another option that is available is Respondus Lockdown Browser which is a browser that students use when they take online tests (instead of Internet Explorer or Firefox).  Respondus Lockdown prevents students from opening any software or other websites while taking tests.  While turnitin.com and Respondus Lockdown are not foolproof, they are tools that help ensure academic integrity in online learning.

Finally, naysayers complain that incorporating all of this technology is very time-consuming and one must be very savvy to do so.  When I began teaching online in 2007, I had been out of the workforce and out of touch with technology for six years.  I still used Lotus 123 to average grades!  The technological instruction at my college is top notch, and what was not offered as a class, I learned directly from my campus instructional technologist.  Wimba is very intuitive and easy to navigate.  Once you learn how to use it, Camtasia and podcasting are also very simple.

Effective online learning encourages students to interact with the lessons and with their classmates.  With the use of technology, lessons can be innovative which is more appealing to students.  As educators, we know that when students are excited about learning, their performance improves!  You can do this too, just get creative, and ignore the luddites!

Apple OS X, Microsoft Windows, or Linux? by George S. Pabis, Ph.D.

Should I buy a computer with Apple’s OS X Snow Leopard or Microsoft’s Windows 7 or a distribution of Linux?   Each has its strength and weaknesses, but I recommend OS X and Windows.  Here’s why:

Apple’s OS X Snow Leopard

Strengths:

1. An elegant interface.
2. A very satisfying user experience.
3. Works only with Apple computers, which are of high quality.
4. Apple has excellent customer service.
5. Apple Stores provide training.
6. Includes iLife, a superb suite of programs.
7. No viruses or malware in the wild that attack Apple computers.
8. A good variety of software available, including Microsoft Office, Photoshop, and Logic Pro.
9. Can run Microsoft Windows 7 in Dual Boot mode or in virtualization software like VMWare and Parallels.
10. Graphic design people and video editors use Macs almost exclusively.
11. Works great with iPods and iPhones.

Weaknesses:

1. Works only with Apple computers, which offers you a limited number of choices.
2. Not as many software titles as on Windows.
3. Not a first-rate gaming platform.
4. Microsoft Office for the Mac is not as full featured as the Windows version.
5. Apple’s iWork sometimes has compatibility problems with Microsoft Office.
6. Most of the corporate world uses Windows.
7. May not be compatible with your Windows software that you use at work.
8. Over 90% of the computers in the world run Windows.

Microsoft Windows 7

Strengths:

1. A beautiful interface.
2. A very good user experience.
3. Windows Media Center is excellent.
4. Superb gaming platform with the right hardware.
5. Almost endless variety of software that allows you to accomplish just about anything.
6. More reliable than earlier versions of Windows.
7. Less susceptible to viruses and malware, but a security suite is required.
8. Microsoft provides good security programs for free.
9. A wide variety of manufacturers produce computers that run Windows.
10. Over 90% of the computers in the world run Windows.
11. Most corporations run Windows.
12. The majority of colleges use Windows.
13. Will open documents created in older versions of Windows.
14. Microsoft Office for Windows is superb.

Weaknesses:

1. Tens of thousands of malware and viruses attack Windows if not used properly.
2. Some security suites slow Windows down (particularly Norton and McAfee).
3. Quality varies among the numerous manufacturers of Windows computers.
4. Manufacturers of Windows computers provide mixed quality of customer support for Windows.
5. Includes Internet Explorer, a good browser, but Firefox is better.

Linux

Strengths:

1. It is free.
2. Numerous distributions provide choices.
3. Ubuntu is a polished distribution that provides users with the basics.
4. Experienced users can customize operating system.
5. Open software community provides support.
6. Works well on older and slower computers.
7. Good for web browsing.

Weaknesses:

1. Windows and Mac software does not work in Linux.
2. Virtualization software does not work well.
3. Linux is for hobbyists who want to tinker with the software.
4. Can be buggy, depending on program.
5. Very few established vendors sell computers with Linux installed.
6. Compatibility problems with Windows and OS X.