For those considering a new computer – make sure you ask for student discounts. I’ve just splashed out on a new MacBook Pro – in Apple’s case, the website doesn’t even give the full story, as they have a separate price plan for Higher Education students, including us OU part-timers, that isn’t available online. While their online Education Store usually offers up 10% discounts on new hardware, simply ‘phoning them and asking for a Higher Education discount will get you a 15% discount – quite a chunk off any piece of kit. You can’t even complain about the cost of the call, as it’s an 0800 number.

Not sure how typical Apple are when it comes to discounts (from what I hear Dell and HP at least both offer them, but not sure how much), but given the cost of decent computers these days, it’s always worth asking.