To be honest, you should be able to multitask just fine without core duo. The Duo stuff is basically marketing spin.

iPhone impressions: went away for the weekend. The battery died during that time, which wasn't that impressive. Although I did spend about 4 hours on the internet with Safari on it on the coach.

The mobile coverage in the UK was really impressive. Never had a problem getting a signal. The mail stuff is good, but I had to delete my Gmail account and recreate it manually over the weekend as it mucked up.

The map feature is excellent. I was in London, so it helped me find my way on more than one occasion.

Text messaging interface is great - it's like using instant messaging, with history.

Syncing of bookmarks, photos, music and movies - really good. It was great being able to go into bookmarks and pick up all my favourite sites on the move. Less great was having to log into everything as it fails to synchronise cookies across devices. Lack of Flash = annoying. Youtube on the go = greatness.

So, if i were looking for a basic college laptop for my child, this could be a good one?

Note that it's only available in stores, Suzi. And the rebate offer is only through 12/8.

gah, not sure if I am ready to pay that yet. Darn it.

Dana, SuziQ -- ISTR that Celeron processors are to be avoided, for reasons of slowness, heat, and power consumption, especially in laptops. That may have changed in the last few generations, so maybe it's worth some research, but don't buy it on impulse just because it's cheapest.

Thanks, dcp. I'm trying to wait for her b-day in March to get her a laptop, but am watching out for any good deals.

Similar question, actually.

I have gotten a donation of up to $2500 for 2 computers. I would like them to be laptops.

I was looking at [link]

Largely because I want to play with a tablet, if we can't have Macs (won't work on the network).

Given that we're not really doing all that much with them beyond Word Processing and Internet, what do you guys think?

So, if i were looking for a basic college laptop for my child, this could be a good one?

If it's really for college, you'll probably want to check the college's recommended configuration, and also the deals that the college has negotiated with vendors.

Ugh I suck. I just found out my Dad never cashed the GC I got him to audible.com because he didn't know how to use it. To further my embarassment I went over there to try to work out some instructions for him only to discover that their files are .aa and not .mp3. I've got my Mom checking out the make and model of Dad's mp3 player... are there mp3 players that can play .aa files or have I pretty much got my Dad the worst gift ever?

Most mp3 players can play Audible's .aa files - the only one I know that can't off the top of my head is the Zune. This page should be able to help.