I have a friend who is a 4th year at MSU. He told me to get neither. He said you would need to get a PDA that will still be good 3 or 4 years from now, so, at this point, it is a waste or money. As for the laptop, as long as you have something at home you will be fine. He said to just use the computer lab when on campus. If you need a computer, then just get a desktop for half the price of the laptop. I figure, between the laptop and the $700 PDA, he saved me nearly $2200.