hey i have a mac laptop, got it just before christmas i think, cost around £1000. but the only thing i really use if for is the internet and uploading my photos so seems a bit of a waste. was thinking of selling it and buying a cheaper laptop that'll do me for uni, and hopefully ill have a bit of cash left over. but as you can probably tell, i know nothing about computers and technology in general so any advice would be great :)
thanks lauren.

Did you choose the machine originally? Any particular reason for going with the Mac?

Don't forget that once you are at uni the machine (this one, or the replacement) will get a lot more use - wordprocessing, downloading not-entirely-legal music, maybe design type stuff (depends on your course), msn, email etc and the Mac is totally suited to all these things, moreso perhaps than a Windows laptop if you take account of the software that each will come with as standard.

If you really just want to browse the internet, do a bit of photo uploading and word processing then an Asus Eee pc is a cheap, cheerful and very portable option. It's small enough to stick in your bag and take to uni with you and you'll be able to connect to the uni wifi network.

The macbook at 13 inches is just as portable as the eee pc and has the benefit of a reasonably sized screen and keyboard. Plus you're not stuck using Linux or Windows XP, which I believe are the choices on the eee pc.

The macbook at 13 inches is just as portable as the eee pc and has the benefit of a reasonably sized screen and keyboard. Plus you're not stuck using Linux or Windows XP, which I believe are the choices on the eee pc.

A MacBook is 325mm x 227mm and 2.27kg, a 9" Eee is 225mm x 170mm and 0.99kg. The other points are valid, but it clearly isn't "just as portable", by virtue of being bigger and heavier. Given the MacBook is 737 sq cm on the surface against the Eee's 382 sq cm, I'd say it was almost twice the size, and is more than twice the weight.

If you're interested in the EEE then you may also be interested in reading up about it on this link Asus eee dumb mistakes (http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2007/11/23/asus-eees-dumb-mista.html). Dont know whether they've all been fixed yet but you may be interested in finding out about that as well.

but it clearly isn't "just as portable"

Okay, I was talking in slightly broader terms - all of the 'little' portables - macbook, eee pc, anything with up to 12 or 13 inch screen (and not lots of border to pad out the size) I would class as generally very easy to take around. They'll fit into a bag / backpack and sit happily alongside whatever folders or books are already in there - let's not forget the OP is off to uni with this machine.