Smartphones

Tablets

Notebooks

Netbooks

Chromebooks

Laptops

Desktops

Etc.

A desktop... but it depends.. If you are taking a class or several classes to upgrade your skill set or for rectification of some type, a laptop would probably suffice.

If your are going for a degree, I'd select a desktop for the long haul.

Desktop computers can cost less to repair, upgrade, and purchase. Needless to say, I'm speaking of PC's.They biggest advantage would be a backlit computer monitor, 24.6 inches. You have a lot more real estate to read, watch a professor via Skype, streaming/video or have multiple tabs open. You can install multiple HDD to keep your school work, personal data and back-up on different HDD's There would be no need for special partition on your main drive or having to connect an USB external hard drive. HDD these days are very reasonably priced. If you have a notebook already you could purchase a device called the iTwin. Basically it acts as your own cloud device. You leave one end connected to your main computer and connect the other end to your laptop. No need for flashdrives or emailing documents to yourself because that device allows you to access all data from your main computer to your notebook anywhere all the time. http://www.itwin.com/

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[Edited 10/24/13 9:53am]

Thanks. I was getting very tempted to get the chromebook but the word "play" keep standing out. I don't need any more devices just to play on, but it's getting a little overwhelming trying to get a understanding what would work well for my lifestyle.