Posted on 06/29/2011 7:01:55 PM PDT by decimon
My laptop is under this desk — connected to a ‘port replicator’ (docking station). On the desk itself is a screen and keyboard that is connected to all the stuff under it. So I have a nice screen that is eye-level and a keyboard which is the normal size, AND a mouse, rather than that other curser.
I’m not techie, but I like this set-up, as I can take the laptop off and take it with me if I wish. Altho — since I have a BlackBerry, my laptop doesn’t follow me any longer when I go away.
It counts as information. Thanks.
I bought this thing about 2 years ago, and very rarely use my others (I have 3 always-running boxes in my basement office, which I run from this one from upstairs). The price was excellent (about $425 IIRC), and it is the first laptop I have ever owned that I have done *nothing* to (usually have to add RAM, or a bigger hdd) I LOVE this box. I work out on the deck, or in the living room on the couch, or from my LazyBoy, which is 100x better than being stuck in my office chair.
Would recommend a very sturdy backup tho, as laptops are not as durable, and do die a cruel death when they go, as a normal course of things...
Thanks a lot. I like 7 and will look into it. I haven’t used the Vista box much.
The kids have several different sorts of devices ~ most fully decked out with massive RAM. Still they have their 1.9 Terrabyte disk drives to download stuff to regularyl.
The trick to this is to get a keyboard ~ plug it in ~ set the laptop up on a little rack so it can radiate heat. That way if it has a disk drive it will not get harmed by overheating.
We are looking forward to color e-ink displays. They will be more visible in sunlight than the present array of LED displays we have been using.
Now, for the big deal ~ taking a computer that tunes in HD TV channels. Will feed local PBS Channel 26 to my LED projector and we'll watch the Fireworks on a 100 inch screen in the living room.
We'll do DC first, then Boston, then Philadelphia, and then the rerun on NYC.
I would definitely agree with that. You won’t notice any issues with your portable if you choose correctly. However, I will say, that both of our computers are maxed out with the most RAM they can hold, along with replacement hard drives hand-picked for throughput and access time, according to benchmarks from various testing sites.
Any computer is only as fast as its slowest component. Often, the component most noticed is the hard drive, loading or saving things. Portable hard drives are small and slower than desktop drives. We both had the original drives, but the best upgrade was reimaging the drives to our new drives, with up to 40% more speed, several years after we bought the original systems. Another tweak we did was to put in higher-end processors when those became available. However, doing either of these requires some knowledge of the systems and their capability. Of course, you may find the default system to be perfectly fine.
I can definitely say that we really enjoy catching HiDef online content on the 1920x1200 laptop screen, lying down in our bed. :-) You can’t do that with a desktop monitor!
Excellent vanity (for a change.) Mucho thanks.
Almost 100% laptop at home.
i7 processor, lots of RAM and a 500 gig HD, and it’s nearly a year old model. Much faster than the PC I use at work. I have an HDMI cable that connects to the TV for movies so I don’t even miss the bigger monitor. I got an iPad for Christmas, it sits in the john for light reading and Sudoku, other than that the laptop does everything.
Of my innumerable numbers of systems and drives, I’ve never lost a mainboard (except for lightning strikes) but have lost probably 20 drives in the last 10 years, including several laptop drives in the last year. Yes they are getting better, but as with any mechanical system eventually it will fail.
Laptop drives are optimized for low power consumption. They do
tend to fail sooner as they are also optimized for weight. Not nearly
as sturdy.
Laptops have a great deal of proprietary H/W and really don't lead themselves to upgrades. Buy everything you want and add some more if you want to replace an easily upgraded desktop. Personal recommendations, get a good video card, max out the RAM, get a extra life battery, biggest best quality display, and put in the best processor you can afford. It will bee too heavy to port around much, but it will be a great home machine. Make sure you back up regularly because laptop hard drives and displays seem to always fail at the most inconvenient times.
I would recommend an Intel i7 proc, min 8gb rame, a 9 cell battery (3-4.5 hours life), a video card, bluetooth (about an extra $20), ‘n;’ wireless networking (good to be available even if you run a ‘g’ network, 500gb 7200 rpm drive, 17” screen and a full sized keyboard.
Where would I get this you may ask, well I would look in the Dell outlet, you would be surprised how many refurbs under full warranty you can find. Good luck, I personally like having both desktops and laptops for my own use.
I recieved a laptop and a printer/scanner/copier as a gift and I like it. It is a lot better than the old and very slow desktop I used to have. It has taken a while for me to get used to it. I do miss having a desktop. In addition to speed and new software. the laptop has freed up lots of space on my desk. As a result, the desk looks better and less cluttered. The overall look of everything in the room has improved. :)
I am a doctoral student and gave up my desktop for a laptop - m11x(R2) and have not regretted it once. I needed power with the ease of mobility.
Actually moved to an m11x from a Sager 17” 7280 (boy, that beast was powerful but heavy). Anyhow, been using a laptop over a desktop for the last 6 years.
You a ham?
I tried. Didn’t like it, and it wrecked havoc on my wrists to type on a laptop sized keyboard all the time.
The question I have for myself (and others, I suppose) is why do I use a laptop which I never, or almost never, move, and risk failure with as always insufficient backups and no possibility of hardware self-service as I would have with a desktop even one that wasn’t built by me? D’uh!
Hi decimon,
I’m in both worlds. My work machine is a macbook pro. Home boxen are an aging Powermac G4 mirrordoor and a Dell Precision Workstation. Then there’s the nookcolor. By way of explanation: the work machine’s mainly for work, and it’s great, the G4 is mostly used for FR and email, the nook for much as I can in the way of reading when I don’t have physical book, and the Dell is for Oblivion. ;)
Great point, roamer_1.
Both my wife and I have had the extended warranty, extra insurance and next-day onsite service for four years on each of our systems. That way, even if you spilled coffee in the system, it’s covered without a fuss. After that ended on the older system, I just bought a spare off Ebay to swap my drive into, instead.
You do need an external backup device that you regularly backup to. I would suggest one that uses a high-speed interface like e-SATA over USB 2.0, and for software (eSATA can transfer at least 50% faster from your system to the hard drive), it’s hard to go wrong with Acronis Drive Image.
Hope this helps.
First time was around 2001 when assigned to Afghanistan (civilian brown service passport) and could not take a desktop. Returned to using both.
In recent years have acquired several laptops and lost the desk top.
Consistently used Asus models - from small 10” then to 12” netbooks (external CD/DVD drive only) for convenient carry to a 13” more powerful but heavier model laptop.
Finally spent real money and got a 13” SONY VIAO - ASTONISHINGLY LIGHTWEIGHT but powerful Intel i5 processor. And an optional solid-state hard drive (no moving/spinning parts like regular hard drives). Faster and uses less battery power.
With an optional extended battery runs for around 10-hours or about six to seven hours on a standard battery. Run it on a/c at home in my favorite recliner.
But whatever you do, DO NOT defragment solid state hard-drives. Not needed and could damage it. Regular hard drives available. Does anything a desk-top does unless you are into heavy gaming. Can be set to gaming mode but unlikely to match a decent desk-top.
I got a brand new one at a good price from a major retailer as Sony was coming out with a similar but newer model.
If you only need to use your unit at home, then you can get much more bang for your buck a desk top with a very large monitor screen.
Newer desktops have the computer built into the fairly flat screen Monitors and wireless keyboards and mouse units provide flexibility of use.
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