Using a Laptop as Your Primary Computer

Dunno about at home, but I used to have a laptop as my exclusive work PC and 'twas a pain. A few quick observations:

* they aren't as light as you think they are. If you want portability and reliability, that means you bring along extras - extra battery, long phone cord, extension cord, etc. Alone these don't weigh too much, but they add up.
* they aren't as lit up as you think they are. Screens are dark or reflect glare. Tilting the screen helps, sometimes.
* they aren't as durable as you think they are. Everyone thinks they're going to take their laptop to the beach. Ha ha ha that will not happen in this lifetime, unless you enjoy bringing it in for service every few months or so, for the technician to clean out sand. Of course that will break the delicate stuff inside. So you'll need to back up frequently. That means carrying around CD-RW or diskettes (look, more weight!), unless you want to be chained to a phone jack.
* they aren't as comfortable as you think they are. Carpal tunnel, eye strain, backaches, etc. can all come from a laptop just as easily as they can come from a desktop PC. You have to do a lot of adjusting, and airline seats, the bus, your lounge chair, etc. just aren't high enough for you to not do a number on your neck and back. As for a wrist rest - there is none, unless you bring your own (even more weight). So you'll also (if you mind neck aches) need to have something to prop up the computer so that the screen is closer to eye level.
* they aren't as easy to use as you think they are. Track pads - argh, the bane of my existence! A mouse is one thing, with a mouse you can get some control. But a track pad, until you master it, is an exercise in frustration, as you lightly touch the pad and suddenly the cursor zooms to the opposite edge of the screen. Want to bring a mouse along? That's fine, but it's more weight again, plus you're using a port which you might want for something else, like a printer.

Now, if you don't move the laptop around at all (which kind of defeats the purpose of a laptop, eh?), what you can get is a docking station. They have a standard-sized keyboard and screen, plus a mouse. The laptop acts as the docking station's hard drive. You get the benefits of a desktop PC. However, laptops are more expensive than desktops - why would you buy a laptop, plus a docking station, when instead you could just buy a desktop for less $$?

Now, I carried around a laptop for 3 years and I hated it, but my job required that I have access to my files, etc. no matter where I was. So, a laptop made sense, whether I loved it or not. But for home use, I think laptops are a lovely idea but they do not work as well as desktops, and their benefits are dubious at best.

PS That having been said, my folks have a laptop. It's a nice little machine. They use it when visiting us or my brother or otherwise are on vacation. If they aren't traveling, the laptop stays in its case and they use their 2 desktop machines.

yeh, what she sez and one more. The stupid mousepads on a laptop have taken a one hand operation9the mouse) and turned it into a 2 hand operation. Thats a bitch if youre trying to eat chips.
Wanna go blind slowly? get a laptop. I use one for a2k and field work. Its a Dell inspiron, they do make the screens larger than my 14" screen.
I have a flat panel 21" , now thats comfortable and the flat panel (desktop) is very easy to see and eat chips at the same time.

farmerman, I use a mouse with my laptop. Just plug into the USB connection. If you have wind XP, it automatically recognizes it as a mouse. c.i.

I always hated laptops for all the reasons jes mentioned. But now I use one at work and home.

There are upsides like using a computer while lying down but you end up jumping through loops because of the issues jes mentioned.

I'm getting a wireless trackball in a few days (slow shipping GRRR!) and that should make my life easier. My typos increase significantly on the laptop's keyboard ánd my ~ is missing.

Those are just gripes but there are a few serious problems.

I do webdesigna dn graphic design for my company (as well as here on A2K) and the colors are simply much different on a laptop.

I end up having to use an external monitor.

So let's tally it up.

External monitor, external keyboard, external mouse....

You get teh point.

I still need to use a laptop because I need to carrry it around but I stand by my old rule that a laptop is a good compliment to a desktop but not a great replacement.

Hmmmmmm - decisions, decisions - (pretending she has enough money to buy ANY sort of computer!) - I would like to be able to sit up in bed and read and be online a bit, too - or be in the living room doing this and that - I am tired of being in the most boring room in the house to be online, when I have glorious views and light everywhere else...

What is it like mousing if you are in bed, or on a sofa? (I HATE those damned laptop ball thingies!)

If you want to work in bed or sofa, why not get a $400 flat-screen monitor for your existing computer and put it on a swing-arm mount? Bigger, brighter, and more at eye-level.

I had a laptop for a few years. Before buying, I rented 3 different models for a week at a time. The hands-on experience taught me a lot about the subtle little differences!

Once I had the laptop, of course I wanted a full-size monitor and keyboard too, so I ended up just using it on my desk 90% of the time like any other computer. Oh well.

Mobility -- These days when all I need to do is move from office to home, I have a desktop PC in both locations and put all my work on an external USB2 hard drive. It's only slightly bigger than a PDA (almost fits in a pocket!) but I plug it straight into any computer at either location (without turning the PC off) and bing, there's all my software, programs, data and files from the last ten years. In 20 seconds I'm live and working, much faster than turning on a computer!

The performance is every bit as fast as an internal hard drive, and there are no bulky accessories whatsoever. Computers are so omnipresent these days, that all I really need to carry is my entire hard drive.

Random thoughts.

cravenand borg all speak sooth. ci, the point about the 'CONVENIENCE' of a laptop all goes away when you add up the peripherals , I do have a pencil mouse for use when Im travelling, since a regular mouse needs some surface more even than my lap. I told an airline to glue some mousey crap on the top of their tray tables for easier use.
Of course, a little PDA with one of those fold away keyboards is kind of neat if all I want to do is write. Although the 'gameboy" screen is sometimes real difficult to see. At least with the PDA, I dont allow myself the luxury of carrying all the peripherals and still fooling myself into believing that its convenient.
definately dont consider a laptop if its gonna be the only box you buy
OH YEH, one thing that really irks me is my notebook only allows a DVD or a floppy disc drive, not both. I dont know how many times I had to buy the other drive from Dell when I got to my destination, or call home to have one shipped to my destination cause i needed it.grrr
When Im all set up in my laptop mode, my whole setup looks like Nickfuns avatar with "eyes" poking out the side and wires out the back., not pretty

I have both a laptop and a desktop - and to be honest, I hardly use my desktop - I just find it way too cumbersome !! The desktop takes a huge amount of space, and in my small study - littered with files and books, space is at a premium. I also find the keyboard of a desktop much harder to use !! I had bought the desktop to play games and stuff and use it for my home purposes - but always end up using my laptop for almost everything.

I am seriously thinking of throwing away the desktop and buying a laptop for home as well.....

oh gawd!

i would now be seriously confused - if I had enough money to buy a new computer!

heehee

every cloud has a silver lining.....

I think that the first question should be, what do you use your current home computer for? Also, how do you connect to the internet? Dial-up or Broadband?

Laptops have become very capable these days. The more the laptop can do, the heavier it usually is. But, they also do not take up alot of space and can be stored away some where while not in use. You can get a laptop with a combo drive that lets you burn CDs and read DVDs. Hard drive space can be up around 60-80GB, which is alot if all you are going to be doing is writing some papers, surfing the internet, and sending e-mail. I like Intel's new Centrino laptops that have built in wireless capabilities. Which is nice if you have a home network with broadband internet access and a wireless hub. That way you can surf the internet from the conforts of your bed, and if you need to get up and go to another room, you dont have to worry about leaving the laptop behind. Take it with you and not loose your connection.

So, i personaly like laptops. You can do almost everything with a laptop that you can a desktop. The only area where a laptop is limited is in gaming. The Graphics processors are not as strong as the ones you can buy for a Desktop, but they are getting closer.

Good luck on you quest for a new computer.

I agree. I am looking into buying a "desktop replacement" laptop with wifi and a wireless router right now.

But you can surf from your bed with a big screen, wireless keyboard and wireless rollerball.

I do most of my design work on a laptop (I'm a graphic designer) using very large files. No problems. I always proof on my desktop for screen clarity.

Man I hate designing on a laptop. I get all the colors wrong because of the damn screens.

I do all the structure on laptops and do colors on a desktop.

Calibration is difficult, Craven, and truly in the eye of the beholder, but my colors are usually on target. Just take the time and do it properly. You'll thank yourself.

yes laptops are capable. However they are not comfortable . The screens are just not big enough, and to do the same thing as a desktop, you have all these cords running about. So why then , if Im going to need crap all splayed out anyway, would i not choose something that gives me better resolution, color, graphics, and light.
my laptop is a travel buddy for writing , thats all its good for. I do computer modelling and the laptop doesnt have the same capabilities to make adjustments and screw with the math like our desktops do. All our math models used to need a UNIX platform, no longer,everythings pretty much win and the best box to see graphics stuff is a 25" screen desktop. So if your only into writing and not interactive or math driven graphics, go for the laptop. However if you are an engineer or scientist, or artist / heavy graphix user or designer, your world will be significantly shrunk and slowed aND, if you need to be hooked to a printer/scanner or any peris anyway, why the hell would you spend more money (per gig) for a weenie screened laptop?

A laptop is great to be able to work anywhere. On nice days, I'm working on my patio, or in another city, outside of the home base, on an airplane or in the airport, I'm here to tell you that the convenience of the laptop is wonderful.

When I went from my Mac to a PC, knowing little or nothing about PCs, I bought a used HP laptop to learn on. I love it, even though it's falling apart. I also own a new IBM laptop. This is a little lighter in weight than the HP and a bit smoother to use.

I own the laptops because they're mobile and because my house has air conditioning only in one part. When it gets hot out, I move the computers into the cooler areas.

For the new PC user, I would suggest the use of a PC.

I use the laptop as a primary computer because I don't like to work in the same room every day, evey night. The only problem that I have is it doesn't have enough storage for my video file.

I used to have a tower. Now I have a laptop, and that is my only computer. It's great. I hated that big clunky tower under my desk. No problems at all with the laptop. I use a mouse though, because without the mouse it is kind of a pain. Also, I am not carrying it all over the place, but I have taken it with me on trips. That's not even a thing I cared about when I bought it, but it's a cool extra bonus.