Originally Posted by
Brandon
A: My mom. She's pretty much a computer. You tell her what to do, and she can do it. Without telling her, she can do nothing. She needs 100% perfect instructions. It's like writing assembler trying to instruct her.
As the guy who only ever uses laptops (haven't owned a desktop since 1998), you can get through CS with a 300$ laptop. I bought some cheap HP compaq and it worked fine for school. Although, it was heavy as hell.
I have 3 laptops: Asus S56CM (hackintosh), Macbook Pro 2015 (maxed out), HP Compaq (forgot the model). I wouldn't buy a Macbook Pro for CS at all.
As for Linux being easier than Windows, I agree to some extent. For CS and computer programming stuff, it's a ton better. For everyday school use, I would argue otherwise. CAD, Pro-Engineering WildFire, 3DS max, etc.. all designed for Windows. A lot of schools automatically use Windows. You log in with your student ID on Windows, etc.. That's the only reason.
But if you ever tried Linux Mint, it's just as easy to use as Windows (if not easier).
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I think you're underestimating the knowledge of the average user. Give them time and force them to use a certain device a certain way, they will learn it without a doubt. We went from Nokia's to Palm Pilots to iPhones and Androids.