Staying Mobile: Desktop vs. Laptop Volume

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12 Responses to “Staying Mobile: Desktop vs. Laptop Volume”

1. 

   Bradford Werner

   May 20, 2006

   Jeff, don’t buy small. Remember all your Oakley glasses? Anyway, that was very detailed, maybe I’ll buy a laptop guitar.

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2. 

   Dave

   May 20, 2006

   Hummm… if you want something bad enough it is easy to convince yourself that you should go and get it. But I imaging being a web designer you will also want to invest in an external keyboard and mouse. Using a laptop’s for long periods of times I find uncomfortable. Dido with a laptop’s monitor, who want a cramped neck from looking down all the time. Still, I think a laptop is the ideal solution for you to easily transport your work from location to location. But, I just see your small compact laptop growing like a bad fungas.

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3. 

   Dan

   May 20, 2006

   I also suffer from a transient lifestyle and have recently switched to a “desktop replacement” style laptop. I don’t think that I would go back to the desktop. While I do suffer from short term battery life ~2h), it’s not so bad to carry around the power supply. For me it’s made a world of difference work -wise to be able to take everything with me everywhere. That and you may not have to pay for internet if your neighbours have an unprotected network. Were I you, something like the large screen macbook would be ideal…infact if you are purchasing such an item I would be very jealous. Have you thought about the mac mini…somewhat of a space compromise.

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4. 

   Jeff Werner

   May 20, 2006

   @Brad: laptops ARE guitars now.
   @Dave: Ya, I convinced myself I NEED a laptop. And yes, I may keep a keyboard around for working at home, and definitely a mouse (fits in the shoulder bag).
   @Dan: Good to hear, more evidence for me. As for MacMini: not portable enough (still need monitor, mouse and keyboard). The 17″ MacBook is too big to carry around. If I’m going laptop I might as well take it to school all the time. And the screen res on the MacBook 15″ is good.

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5. 

   A

   May 20, 2006

   I switched from full-time desktop use to full time laptop use about 16 months ago. My current computer is a 12″ IBM thinkpad (five months old). I have a couple of comments:
   1. Like Dave said, you’ll need a mouse almost for sure. I don’t agree with the keyboard though. My laptop has a full size keyboard minus the number pad. It works great.
   2. You’ll still need the dsl box so it should be in excluded from your calculations.
   3. Go as portable as you can. 17″ is insane. I even think that 15″ is too big. For me personally, 12″ (11.5″ wide screen) is ideal (the 10’s are getting a little tiny). I watch lots of movies and also do CAD on my laptop and the screen is great.
   4. Careful with the macbook – you should consider the macbook pro, especially if you are doing 3D/graphics. The graphics card is a bit hurting on the plain macbook.
   5. Guaranteed that you’ll want a second external hard drive (which you already have). Because of this you’ll probably want a USB hub (iPod, Camera, external hard drive, mouse…). I got one and it’s one of my best purchases.
   6. Another consideration you should make when deciding the size is the weight.
   7. You gotta get it. I think a macbook pro will be my next computer.

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6. 

   Jeff Werner

   May 20, 2006

   @A: You’re right, I don’t need a second keyboard. I plan on jumping onto wireless connections (primarily at school), hence no DSL box needed. Yup, I wrote MacBook Pro not MacBook, for your reason and a few others (more on that later). External HDD: likely replace my existing with a 2.5″ laptop version (fits in shoulder bag). I love it when you tell me to buy stuff, seriously.

   Reply
7. 

   Dave

   May 20, 2006

   Right before my practicum I bought a fancy new laptop, the Gateway CX2610. It’s a tablet so it includes a pen which allows you to write and draw on the screen. Maby something like this would be usefull for you too Jeff? And the thing wasn’t that expensive to boot, 1500…

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8. 

   Graham

   May 21, 2006

   My 15″ powerbook serves my student life well, and I’m not sure I’ll ever buy another desktop. I use it at home, at the lab, at the girlfriend’s house, at the library, and in coffee shops. I carry around a little IR mouse with a short cord and transport the laptop in a wetsuit-like neoprene case (usually placed into a backpack). I agree that the 17″ is too large (not really portable), but I really value the screen real-estate afforded by the 15″.
   It was an awfully expensive purchase, however, and I’m hoping that I will get several more years of use out of as a sort of justification for its cost. It helped that I was making substantially more than my current student income at the time of purchase.
   I also worry about losing all of the data on it and I’m considering buying an external drive that I can make backups to.
   Graham

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9. 

   Tobias Ottahal

   May 21, 2006

   Jeff, you’ve seen my 12″
   and I’m telling ya, I wouldn’t
   go any bigger than that.
   It fits perfectly everywhere
   and it is just heavy enough.
   Besides, no person with his
   head in the right place would
   work on a 12″ when it comes
   to working professionally
   with anything graphic nitty-gritty.
   It’s just for the portability right??
   So keep your screen, but go for 12″
   on the laptop.
   Size, you can plug into, not
   portability.

   Reply
10. 

    Dylan

    May 23, 2006

    That last line from Tobias was so nerdy but so ACCURATE.
    My compaq laptop (I couldn’t make the switch to mac at the time, for a few reasons) has replaced my desktop, even though I have the space and the option for it at home. It’s 13×9 (widescreen) and it’s just about perfect for me. The few things I complain about is that I don’t have enough RAM for the amount of (basic even) photo touchups I do and the programs I’m constantly running. And even then my lag is minimal. That and the monitor isn’t capable of displaying the higher resolution my video card (designed to handle the bigger screened brother of my machine) is able to produce.
    And the number one reason to switch to laptops? Environmental impact and energy use is greatly reduced.

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11. 

    sc0

    May 25, 2006

    Well Heffy… I’ll throw in my two cents, and sway against the crowd on this one:
    You’ve worked on my wide-aspect 15.4″ dell 8500… and surely have noticed how nice the screen is. We know that you love it.
    My laptop runs heavy 3d graphics like a dream bc of ram. The wide screen kicks ass when I’m doing design… solidworks, photoshop etc. I wouldn’t go smaller. I may go bigger next time. I carry the charger with me always. I also use a mouse. Don’t find the keyboard a problem at all. My laptop’s been around the world now, back and forth to school, work buses, trains, bikes. It’s never really bothered me. If I was that hung-up on weight/size, I’d get a high-end pda. bah!
    word -s
    PS. Party, my house, June 2.

    Reply
12. 

    Everything About The Best Laptops

    December 14, 2008

    Everything About The Best Laptops

    I personally believe that no best laptop can be universally recognized by all users as long as there are so many manufacturers that produce computers…

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