Students will be graduating soon, which means you may have a gift to buy. I know just the thing: a laptop.

These computers are ideal gifts and helpful for both continuing students and those entering the workforce. But before you buy, make sure you select the right machine.

PCs running Microsoft Windows have the most market share and more people are already familiar with Windows. Apple's Macs dominate in creative professions like film production and graphic design.

WINDOWS PCS

Choosing a Windows laptop can be confusing. There are endless manufacturers and configurations.

Dual-core, 64-bit processors are quickly replacing single-core processors. I recommend AMD's Turion 64 X2 or Intel's Core 2 Duo. These chips will be usable for several years.

You also should focus on system memory, or RAM. For Windows Vista, you need at least 1 gigabyte. This is good for word processing, e-mail and Web surfing. But I recommend 2GB.

You can be more flexible on hard-drive size. I wouldn't settle for less than 100GB. Buy a bigger drive if your grad edits video or photographs.

The laptop will probably have a CD-RW drive for burning CDs. You may want to upgrade this to a DVD burner, which can record and play DVDs, as well as CDs.

In most cases, a big screen isn't a necessity. But for graphics and video work, go for a 17-inch or larger screen.

MACS

Picking out a Mac is much easier. Your options are simpler because Apple is the only manufacturer of Macs. Remember that Macs tend to be more expensive than similarly configured Windows PCs. Macs, however, also can run Windows.

Apple offers the MacBook and the more expensive MacBook Pro. The MacBook starts at $1,099. The MacBook Pro starts at $1,999.

All models include Intel's Core 2 Duo. And the options for hard-drive space are similar. The base MacBook has 512 megabytes of system memory. I would double this to prevent sluggishness.

Important differences between the models are graphics and screen size. The MacBook has a 13-inch screen. The MacBook Pro offers screen sizes of 15 or 17 inches.

The MacBook Pro has a dedicated 128MB or 256MB graphics card. This is good for video editing because it takes pressure off the processor and system memory.

The MacBook includes Intel's integrated graphics. While this is good, upgrade to 2GB of memory for video editing.

Apple machines feature combo drives or SuperDrives. The combo drive burns CDs and reads DVDs. For DVD burning, opt for the SuperDrive.

WARRANTIES

Most laptops will include a one-year warranty. But check with your credit-card company. It may double the warranty if you buy the laptop with a credit card.

Extended warranties are available, but I consider them unnecessary. Computer problems tend to happen early on.