From what i experienced, the roadshow thing happened only when
school started so as to cater to more people. Its pointless to
start a roadshow when everyone is having their holidays.
Prices are generally cheaper, but the specs obviously suck. And
not all courses need a laptop. Most courses don't even need a
laptop to be present in school. We have sufficent computer labs.
Furthermore, labs are free access most of the time in the
afternoon. All you need is a thumbdrive. So laptops are really
quite, useless.
Somemore laptops last you probably about 2years. So what
for?