Desktop or laptop?

[randy_byers]

So it's time to upgrade my home computer again, and I'm dithering about whether to get another desktop or whether to switch to a laptop. Anybody have a strong argument either way? I don't have any powerful urge to have a computer with me at all times, but I *am* thinking of buying a smartphone when the new Samsung Galaxy is released here. I'm not sure I need anything more in a mobile computer than the ability to connect to the internet (which the smartphone would give me), although it might be nice to be able to watch movies when I'm traveling (and I'm not keen to watch movies on a tiny screen). I want to be able to burn CDs/DVDs. I want a lot of hard drive space. It seems as though most of my friends have switched to laptops, yet I just don't feel compelled in that direction.

Comments

[jophan.livejournal.com]

For me the deciding factor (to get yet another stationary machine) was that I spend so little time travelling and I prefer to read on my daily commute.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

One thought I've had about mobile reading/film-watching/web-browing is to maybe get a tablet at some point down the road.

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

"...yet I just don't feel compelled in that direction."

Your answer is in your question. Also, you have solutions to your on-the-road needs with a smartphone and maybe a tablet at some point.

Yes, lots of people who own one computer are moving from desktop to laptop machines. As laptops have become more and more powerful, lots of folks with both desktop and laptop computers are are getting rid of their desktops and going just with the laptop. That's the trend; it doesn't mean now is the right time for you to go with it for yourself.

As far as I know, desktops are still cheaper and less likely to be damaged or stolen. Monitors are bigger. Disk drives are bigger. The ergonomics are better. They last longer.

A couple of years back, I spent a year or more doing pretty much everything on my laptop and was moving toward a 2-laptop approach for awhile (having a back-up computer that I can move files to and keep working is one of my standard business practices.) Then I unexpectedly ended up buying a computer when I was in Michigan. My laptop went belly-up, I had deadlines to meet, and the back-up laptop was 850 miles away.

I bought a desktop computer since it was cheaper and I didn't need another laptop. I so enjoy working on it compared to the laptop that I expect to continue on with my desktop'n'laptop arrangement for the forseeable future.