[PCWorld]

Post your comments for Desktops Becoming a Less Viable Business here

[kwjordan]

I'm sure laptops are great for people who need portability, but I don't. Should I sacrifice my large keyboard and monitor because some other people like to take their computer everywhere? I can't think of any place I might take it to. I am not a task worker or gamer either. I'm sure there will always be people who do not need or want a laptop.

[AuroraDizon]

You can always hook up big flat monitors to your laptop. I have a monitor hooked up to my laptop providing me with dual screens. Even if never use it as a mobile device the laptop has a lot to offer space wise. Sure its harder to upgrade, but is smaller sleeker and easier to move if necessary. I also have an external keyboard and mouse hooked up into my laptop. I rarely ever use the keyboard or touch pad on the laptop itself. With technology getting smaller and cheaper, standard desktops seem to becoming clunky and outdated. However I've seen less availble 'desktops' that rival a immobile laptops. The only example I can think off the top of my head would be a mac mini. Those save space if your not interested in taking your computer to another location. I wouldn't imagine it would be too hard with the right monitor and carrying case lol.

[Adama]

This is my first laptop and I just LOVE IT. !http://forums.pcworld.com/legacyimages/
1!
I always have it plugged in though, and hardly ever use its mobility, even tough I love the fact that I can take it anywhere with me.


I've never had a desktop. However, lately I've been thinking that maybe I should get one instead of the HDTV I've been wanting, because it would be a great backup if for some reason I couldn't use my laptop.

[piyushsingh]

Laptops are actually good for nothing. They arent portable in first case (excluding the ultra light ones). They lack power in comparison with desktops. You have to put in another keyboard and a mouse to play games and also dont forget the speakers. Plus who is gonna take into account the health troubles that laptops give due to the wrong posture.

[coastie65]

I think there is and will always be a place for both. Personaly, I don't have a use for a laptop. I spend enough time on the computer at home and certainly don't want to add to it by carrying the thing with me wherever I go. I like that I can configure the Desktop to suit my needs. I am a gamer,and for the most part, I find that a laptop is unsuitable for gaming, or at least the games I have been playing of late on the PC. Not to diminish the laptop, Aurora has made some good points. She stated that she is using an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse. This will give her the capability of a dual monitor setup if she so chooses. I also know she is big on WoW, so she gets her share of gaming in on that thing as well. I guess it depends on the individual and what suits the needs best. coastie65

[Adama]

I beg to differ with you, Piyush. Laptops are good for a lot of things, and for a lot of people laptops are the only way that they are able to work on a computer. Because they travel well, because they can be used at work, school, Universities, Academies, etc.


Also, as far as posture is concerned, you can have bad/wrong posture doing just about anything... watching TV, playing games, sitting at a computer, while eating, sitting at school, meditating, etc., and the list goes on and on. Good posture depends on how well you can sit with your back straight for hours on end, or how straight your spine is when you walk, wherever you walk, etc.

Our world is becoming more and more mobile, that's true, but Desktops will always be a good thing for a lot of people. But we cannot discount the fact that laptops are also good for a lot of people as well.

[AuroraDizon]

Hehe yes I do play Wow a lot. It actually lags less and runs smoother on my laptop then it does his desktop (we got both computers at the same time.) 'As of' current cheaper laptops yea I wouldn't consider playing some higher powered games on it, but that also goes for most desktops out there. As technology shrinks our computers do too. Posture is all about how you hold yourself, like when I draw I can slunch over or I can set it up right and sit correctly.

[piyushsingh]

ok, i agree that laptops have their own place. But the health issue I was talking about was in general. Have a look at this article.

[coastie65]

That posture thing does have it's points. I have a nice comfortable executive chair and I don't sit right for sure. After hours of sitting here playing a game, I am really hurting due to my poor way of sitting for so long. Usually my neck and back. One of these days I'll learn to sit right. coastie

[piyushsingh]

hi coastie
Ya thats the same problem with me. After excessive playing , i sometimes face the same things.But the avg. time is about 3 hrs at a stretch. Though sometimes when i am playing multiplayer with my friends it can get a lot lot longer. Normally when i am college , we keep entire nights for lan play. lol
When i had a toshiba for about 1 year, I wasnt able to play for more than one hour on that thing due to wrong posture. I used to take laptop on the bed and then work and it was a bad bad move. But you are tempted to do such things on a laptop as it is possible.

[JimH443]

I love my huge Logitech G15 123 key KB! I also love being able to get inexpensive components to upgrade my desktop, and the ease with which they're installed. A notebook would have to be half the cost of a desktop before I'd consider buying one, and even then I'd probably stick to a desktop.

[Bans]

I have both. My laptop acts more as a novelty. It sits in my kitchen and I fiddle with it while I cook, etc. It really grids my gears when I seen a lap top thats always plugged in and sitting on a desktop with a mouse and monitor hooked up to it. I'm not sure why, but it does.

[Alibi]

I just got my first laptop as a desktop replacement and it's great. Most of the day it's hooked up to my external screen and the dual screen is a great bonus. But when I have to visit a client... taking my work with me and being able to make changes on the spot... that's certainly improved my workflow. But where laptops need to improve is the customisation. I loved building my desktop and hand selecting the parts for price and performance that suited me... it was a struggle to find a laptop that met my wants and I had to make compromises which I wouldn't have had to do with a desktop... and why, why, why do the manufacturers think we all want glossy screens??? Fortunately the HP8710p still came with matt screen so I nabbed it.

[coastie65]

Hey, Good post. You bring up very good points for both. coastie

[PhilK]

I own three functional laptops, one for my ham radio work in emergency service, a small DELL running Win 2K, one of the first Win XP laptops, a Compaq which has always had a lock-up problem & which I use, if I have to, at customer's sites to clean off their computers. The 3rd is a new DELL Dual Core running XP & this is finally a laptop that has the speed & HW needed for XP, it would probably run VISTA as slowly as the 1st laptops ran XP. It is my opinion that the hardware has finally caught up to the requirements needed to run XP at a reasonable speed. The hardware has years to go before it catches up the MS Vista's over-stuffed OS to run it at a reasonable speed.

Last, I have two desktop PCs one running XP pro which it built around an ASUS motherboard & parts/case from TigerDirect.com. This too has good running speed for XP & I'm using it as a file-server. The last desktop is an old Gateway that ran XP poorly but which is now running Ubuntu Linux fairly well.

I believe there will always be places where desktops are needed or desired, for one they are less likely to walk away, for another more stuff (hardware) can be added more easily to them than to laptops.

Also, I would hate to have to implement a domain server on a laptop with full RAID duplication/backup. Someday soon that may not be as issue, but I'd still feel better with a BIG BOX weighing in at 75+ lbs to house my domain server which almost requires two people to help it walk away than a laptop which might be possible to hide under a big coat.

Phil Karras
Circle Software
Message was edited by: PhilK

[coastie65]

Im kinda ambivalent when it comes to Laptops, but as to running Vi$ta, I think the Dell XPS M1730 has enough horsepower to handle it quite well. Oh, I am also no fan of Vi$ta. coastie65

[stymie222]

Did you ever see a repair bill for a laptop ?

Desktops are much easier to repair / upgrade.

I cant ever imagine a laptop will be capable of running 3 video cards [SLI] or storing 750 gigs of DVD files.

The desktop will always have its place.

[daybossguy]

I am in favor of the laptops. They are portable, same price, same stuff. Plus you can use them when the powers out.

[piyushsingh]

daybossguy said:

I am in favor of the laptops. They are portable, same price, same stuff. Plus you can use them when the powers out.

same price?? , same stuff ??? Definitely not