In this paper, I would like to make a recommendation to the administrators of Midwood High School regarding their intention to purchase notebooks for their students. In particular, I can suggest that they should acquire laptops of MacBook Pro series manufactured by Apple since 2006.
This memorandum contains a careful evaluation of two products, namely MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. Special attention is paid to their advantages and disadvantages, namely such aspects as price, performance, and functionality of these devices. It is possible to say that MacBook Pro can offer more opportunities to learners. Moreover, this laptop has a better price-quality ratio. In the following sections of the memorandum, this argument will be explained in more detail.
Background: The Choice of Technologies for Schools
The administrators of many schools want to adopt the most cutting-edge technologies in effort to facilitate students’ academic performance and improve their experiences. However, the problem is that it is often difficult to choose the product that will correspond to such criteria as good price-quality ratio, excellent functionality, design, and reliability.
Furthermore, one should distinguish between commercial information provided by manufacturers and accurate assessment of technological devices. So, very often schools fail to purchase laptops that really meet the educational needs of students. Thus, the problem has several dimensions. On the one hand, school administrators have to keep within budgetary constrains that are often very tight.
Yet, they also have to make sure that learners can acquire knowledge and skills. This is the issue that the administrators of Midwood High School should address. MacBook Pro seems to be the most optimal choice for this educational institution because this laptop is well-suited for various learning activities.
In particular, one can speak about tasks as searching information on the Internet, text editing, team communication in group projects, programming, and so forth (Kay and Sharon 362). Furthermore, when choosing a laptop, people should pay attention to such criteria as ease of use, speed, reliability, functionality, and certainly price.
Evaluation of two products: MacBook Pro and MacBook Air
Technical specifications
In order to compare these laptops, one should focus on such technical specifications which are probably the most important evaluation criteria. There are several indicators that are closely related to performance. In particular, it is necessary to speak about the storage capacity of the hard-disk drive, memory, processor, and the dimensions of the display. These are the most important benchmarks. The following table presents the compararison of MacBook Pro and MacBook Air:
This comparison is important because it can highlight the most important differences between the two laptops; these differences should be considered by buyers who are interested in the ease of use, speed, or ability to store information. Overall, it is possible to argue that MacBook Pro has better functional characteristics. For instance, one can mention that the users usually find easier to work with a laptop that has a larger display. This is why they may prefer MacBook Pro that has a display with a 15,4 inch diagonal.
Secondly, memory and processor largely determines the speed of the laptop. This issue is important for a person who wants to work on different tasks that may require a high-tech laptop. As it has been shown in the table, MacBook Pro has a better processor and memory in comparison with its counterpart. Furthermore, school administrators should take into account that students can store their various types of data on their laptops. It is quite possible that they will a hard-disk drive that has a better storage capacity.
Moreover, there are several drawbacks that the users of MacBook Air have identified, namely the overheating of the central processing unit and the absence of CD or DVD-ROM (DeWitt, unpaged).
The administrators of Midwood High School should know about these limitations (DeWitt unpaged). This drawback can give rise to significant problems such as lock-ups (DeWitt, unpaged). Thus, a person may find it difficult to use this laptop, especially if he/she is concerned with time-efficiency.
It has to be admitted that MacBook Air has long-been considered one of the thinnest laptop ever produced (DeWitt, unpaged). This ultra-light design has been appealing to many people. This is one of the advantages that this product has over MacBook Pro.
Yet, one should remember this thinness led to the diminished functionality of this laptop (DeWitt, unpaged). Additionally, it should be taken into account that the design of MacBook Air increases the fragility of this notebook. This means that Midwood High School may incur the increased costs of repair.
Price
Finally, when comparing these laptops, the buyers should also think about such a criterion as price. It has to be admitted that currently the most recent computers of the MacBook Pro series cost more that Mac Book Air. In particular, one can purchase them at the price of $1799 while MacBook Air costs $ 1199 (Apple Inc. unpaged). However, this difference in prices is quite justified because the laptop that I recommend has much better functional characteristics.
Additionally, one should note that technologies develop at a very rapid pace, and computers quickly become out-of-date. The computers that were considered the most cutting-edge products several years ago may now become obsolete. They may not have the resources to run new types of software.
Provided that the administrators of Midwood High School choose to purchase MacBook Pro they will make sure that the students will be able to use the most advanced technologies. Overall, it is possible to create two charts that compare these two laptops according to such parameters as price and performance.
In this case, the horizontal axis refers to the price of the product, while the vertical axis denotes performance of the laptop. Although, MacBook Pro has a higher price, its performance is also increased. Thus, it can offer a better utility to the users. This is the main issue that buyers should consider.
Conclusion
Thus, after comparing the two products, I would suggest that the administrators Midwood High School should consider purchasing MacBook Pro because this product can better fit the needs of students who expect speed, reliability, and convenience from laptops. Moreover, they will ensure that the school does not have to reinvest into newer technologies in the near future because MacBook Pro will continue to be an advanced product for a long time.
Appendixes
Works Cited
Apple Corporation. MacBook Air (2012) – Technical Specifications. 2012. Web.
Apple Corporation. MacBook Pro. 2012. Web.
DeWitt, Phillip. Apple’s MacBook (hot) Air problem. 2008. Web.
Kay, Robin and Lauricella Sharon. “Gender Differences In The Use Of Laptops In Higher Education: A Formative Analysis.” Journal Of Educational Computing Research 44.3 (2011): 361-380. Print.