Who prefers a laptop over your desktop? (1 Viewer)

I've grown to use my 17" PowerBook almost exclusively. Course, depending on your needs, a Mac may not be adequate. In real life useage tho', the 17" LCD, SEEMS about the same size as my 19" CRT. (I know this isn't true, but like I said, it SEEMS the same.)

Just a thought for you.

Ciao

I will never buy another desk top. I carry my laptop around the house with a phonecord that is 40' long. Sometimes I have to change jacks put no problem there. Go with the LT.

I ABSOLUTELY HATE LAPTOPS.

That tiny keyboard....
The tiny screen.... (in order for the laptop to have a big screen it's got to be a big laptop)
Whatever passes for a mouse....
The lack of upgradability.....
Expensive RAM.....
The fact that you can get twice the processing power for half the price with a traditional desktop....
Expensive replacement batteries...

Unless I absolutely need to use them, and there are legitimate needs for them, I will avoid those things at all costs. I HATE THEM!!!!

I hate them so much I double posted! :b

I don't think Philip likes laptops.

Neither do I, for all the reasons he stated.

Jon

I have both and it all depends on what you use it for. If you are a gamer, I wouldn't suggest it even if you had the $$ for a top shelf Alienware. If you are not it all depends but they are too finicky for me as Phillip suggests(and listed most if not all the issues one might have).

I used a laptop in lieu of a desktop for about a year.

It's "doable", as long as you purchase a full-size keyboard and a regular optical mouse for use at home.

Even then, you give up a lot in versatility; plus, if you leave your machine on a lot (for, say, Remote Desktop use), they seem to heat up a lot more than desktops.

I also agree with the posts above, that if you're into "gaming", the desktop is your only choice.

There's also the cost factor: You can typically acquire 2.6 GHz P-4 desktops with built-in DVD-RW and CD-RW combo drives, with a 125 Gig hard drive and a half-Gig of RAM, for less than $999 now. Try doing that with a laptop!

I just switched to a notebook and I love it. I still have my old main PC available (its now my wifes PC) but I never use it now that I've got my notebook. If you need a large screen take a look at the Dell 8500 series since they're a widescreen model with a very high resolution screen. I have the 5100 with a 15" screen and i don't notice the smaller screen compared to my usual 17" screens...besides when I'm at home in the office I run dual monitors so I've got no end of desktop room There's a very long and detailed thread here about the Dell 8500's.

I would go with a laptop, unless your work involves CAD, heavy scientific analysis, or even giant spreadsheets/MS Project files. A desktop excels in those areas, especially with a multiple-monitor setup.

Laptops are more self contained, more resistant to spills, more adaptive (through cards) but are pretty much impossible to upgrade processor wise. A nice compromise is to have a laptop with a nice docking station at home; that way you can get a larger monitor, keyboard, mouse, scanner, CDRW, whatever and have it available, but also be able to move with the laptop when you need it.

With the advent of wireless LAN technology, the laptop is superportable around the house; anywhere you want, you can work.

I have a Toshiba Satellite 5100...the best laptop I've ever used. In fact, I'm using it right now.

15" diagonal screen, 1600x1200 resolution. It is a godsend for work...text is beautiful on this machine. I can stare at the screen for hours and hours with not even a hint of eye fatique. It is also suitable for older 3D engine games (like Quake 3, Unreal Tournament, Asheron's Call, and can do limited UT2003).

If you do a lot of text processing or programming, an LCD display is indispensible. I wish I could detach the LCD screen from my laptop, I like it so much. The laptop itself is very convenient...it has 3 USB ports, VGA-out, firewire, and a DVD-ROM/CD-Writer drive.

The keyboard has a nice feel to it too...I only wish it was slightly bigger, but then again I don't need to do a lot of touch-typing, since I'm a programmer and I spend 90% of my time thinking about how to introduce new bugs oops I mean new features.

My desktop machine at home is an nforce2-based machine, AMD Athlon XP 2200. They are very similar in speed. Laptops and desktops are so fast nowadays you'll be hard-pressed to tell the difference between the two if you're surfing or doing work that does not require 3D rendering (which is nearly everything).

Oh yes...I also have a Linksys wireless router and PC card. It's a cool feature to have as well...surfing in bed.

I got my 15" TiBook this past November, and I don't know how I lived without it! My desktop computer sees very little action these days. I do a lot writing, so it's nice not to have to sit at a desk, since I'm at one all day. I also take the laptop with me when I travel. It doubles as my portable DVD player!

I use my desktop computer mostly for graphics work, since a laptop still doesn't cut it in that area.

It did take me a while to get used to the keyboard, but now I'm a pro at it. My laptop is hooked up my wireless network, which is great. I'm now a huge laptop fan!

Put me in the group of "I hate laptops". Actually, I like my Mac laptop, but I couldn't survive on it alone. For me, the desktop comes first and the laptop comes into play when I need portability, but that's really all it's good for.

I find I can never get into a comfortable position when I'm on the laptop. The only way I can work on the laptop is when I am sitting at the table with it, and if I'm going to be sitting at a table, why not just use the desktop instead?

Side note: I heard (a few years ago) that they are changing (or wanted to change) the term "laptop" to something else (I forget what) because people shouldn't be using them on their laps. Having something like that laying on your crotch is probably a bad idea

Actually times are changing as far as upgrading goes since I can upgrade my harddrive, CPU, video card and memory fairly easily and with a 2.4 Ghz CPU I'm not lacking for power either to run nearly any app. I want.

I hate laptops too. However, I am fascinated with the idea that I can use my cell phone as a wireless modem and dial into the HTF while blazing down the highway at 70 mph.

So, in short...I hate the laptop.. but I love the idea of mobile computing.

Someone needs to come up with a better interface.. what happened to all those "wearable" computers that were supposed to be the future? I want one of those cool Borg-type monicles and a keyboard on my waist.

You know you can buy a docking station for your laptop. Just plug it in and it's connected to a full sized monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

I used a laptop exclusively for a couple of years. It was really nice, but quite frankly I was glad when I was able to buy a desktop. Laptops are expensive and limited in what they can do.

A friend of mine just had to have a laptop, but he wanted a big screen. So he bought this huge laptop with a 17" LCD. The thing is so big he doesn't take it anywhere. Now, he uses his wife's computer more often, and he's wishing he would have just bought a desktop.

My advice? Either get a small, ultra-portable laptop with a docking station for home use, or don't get one at all. If you buy a big laptop to get the screen real estate and all of the goodies built in (DVD player, etc), you'll quickly tire of lugging it around. If you need the portability, then make it portable, with the appropriate hardware to turn it into a "desktop" at home. Otherwise, don't bother.