desktop of laptop for ds year 8

[farmerjones]

i'm thinking the portablity of the laptop will mean he will bemore likely to drop it, have tug of war with younger siblings etc. therefore desktop might be better idea? i think he can still print wirelessly?

any suggestions on what to get gratefully recieved.

also, quidco stopped working for me a year or so ago. didnt get any of the monies i am due, so not to sure about going through them anymore.

My Yr8 DD has a desktop, shared with her younger sisters. It is kept in a communal area so I can see what she is accessing on the internet. I think one problem with a laptop is it is less easy to monitor their use of it. Also, the likelihood of them using it on their bed, leaving it on and it overheating and potentially causing a fire (maybe that is me being paranoid but it does happen). DD is not the most careful person in the world and I could see the accidental breakage scenario arising too.

I'd go for a desktop if possible. You generally get more performance and storage capacity for the money, it's easy to upgrade and repair desktops, the screen's bigger and the keyboard's better which can make a big difference if he is likely to be doing a lot of typing.