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Consumer Reports joined Into Tomorrow this week with back-to-school laptop recommendations:
No need to spend a fortune on a laptop for your elementary-school student. Chromebooks, like the $250 Acer C740, can cost hundreds of dollars less than other laptops, and they’ve become the computer of choice in many classrooms. With a battery life of 16.25 hours, the Acer has enough juice for a couple of days worth of classes, plus time to spare for homework.
For older students, Lenovo’s 14-inch Z40 earned high scores for performance, plus it’s got ample battery life. Extras include Lenovo’s facial-recognition and voice-control software. Speedy video- and photo-editing are definitely in this system’s wheelhouse, so presentations will get done quickly.
Most college-bound kids can get by with the same machine you would buy for high school, but a higher education in the visual arts can require a bit more horsepower. With a stunning 2560×1600-pixel display, excellent processing performance, and 19 hours of battery life, the MacBook Pro 13-inch with Retina display is about as premium a laptop as you can get, and its price reflects that. And buying with Apple’s education discount brings the price down to $1,200.
For more info on this story, visit ConsumerReports.org.
The team discussed the apps they’ve been playing with this week:
TouchTunes, FREE
I like to annoy my friends when we go out, so I’ve started using TouchTunes, an app that lets me control the jukebox at bars. Every time I find myself at a dive full of rough looking biker types I can sit in my little bar stool and pretend I don’t know who’s playing “My Heart Will Go On” and Justin Beiber songs on the jukebox. It’s hours of fun… or however long it will take for you local bar patrons to stab you. It’s free and they even include some free credits so you can play your first song for free too.
