Are laptops worth it...

[yenrod]

Considering i do need one or make 'will be...



And the budgets low, so....[wry smile: smiley]

 

[Night Train]

Depends on what you want to do with it.
Desk tops are always better in every respect except portability. If portability is important then it has to be a laptop of course.

If you can find a local computer shop they might have an older model with smaller memory and slower processor that will still suit you.

Or you could do what I did and get one free with a broadband service. Mine was with AOL/Carphone Warehouse.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

you can't beat surfing the net while watching telly though.

 

[tdr1nka]

Or visiting the Tea? thread while on a long train journey.

 

[Noodley]

I use a laptop. Fine and handy, perched on the arm of the sofa whilst I sit watching Jezza Kyle on late night telly
I would never go back to a "thingy" one - you know the kind which requires a desk and keyboard and mouse and tower thing and loads of cables and, etc etc...

 

[Danny]

Unless you need a portable machine, I would stick with a desktop if you are on a low budget. £ for £ you'll get more computing power by investing in a desktop.

Also if you do a lot of work on a computer you'll benefit from the better keyboard and screen you get with a desktop. In fact laptops are an ergonomic disaster for regular users.

I actually have a laptop as I travel a lot by train, but when I am home or in the office I hook it up to a keyboard and decent monitor.

 

[Night Train]

I only have a laptop as I need to travel with it for my MSc. Otherwise I far prefer my old reliable desktop.

 

[simoncc]

Laptops are bad news at work. They enslave employees who should know better than to agree to take one home. For personal use they are great, especially as these days you can get one for about £250 that'll be OK for everybody except teenage game freaks who need top performance.

 

[Keith Oates]

I move around a fair bit so for me the laptop is the last thing I would do without, however using a desk top is also good if you don't need portability!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[marinyork]

There is definitely something to be said for mobile browsing

 

[beanzontoast]

I've had 3 laptops in all - first one about 10 years ago. They have good and bad points IME...

Plus -
Can do your work anywhere you can set up and feel safe
Great for keeping in touch with the world when away from home
If you go wireless, you can work sitting in the garden on nice days
Don't take up the space of a desktop - can be put away when not in use and (technically) locked away more easily
Briiliant for student daughter (though security in student digs is an issue)

Minus
Can do your work anywhere (bye bye work-life balance if not careful)
Harder to upgrade than a desktop (can't change screen size without plugging in an external monitor for instance, and I like a really big screen)
Parts (IME) more expensive than a desktop
If something breaks under warrantly, you generally have to send the whole machine back rather than the failed part (has happened 3 times to me)
IME, more fragile than a desktop, esp the hinges and dvd drives
Again, IME, better specced desktops were cheaper than similar specced laptops
If using for any length of time, I find laptop keyboards less ergonomic than desktops

 

[fossyant]

We've got the Carphone warehouse/AOL Dell laptop and it's fine - had it since last Christmas and it's great - use it lots to watch the earlier series of Dr Who (new ones), streamed from the main desktop pc wirelessly to the laptop - the kids love it. Great for surfing in the garden, and stops arguments when two or more people want the computer...

Perfectly quick enough for day to day stuff, and it will play the odd game (like Lego Star Wars II, Lego Indiana Jones etc.)

 

[Night Train]

I used to only have laptops, in the days when processors were 256mhz and only 20mb of memory. I got fed up of having to replace them every couple of years as they couldn't be up graded to keep up with software requirements. I don't think that is such a problem nowadays.

I still have my first laptop, an Amstrad 386 with 1mb of memory, that is the size of an electric typewriter. My first modern style laptop is still here, I lent it to a friend to use about 9 years ago and it came back with a load of porn on the hard drive!

 

[Fnaar]

My first modern style laptop is still here, I lent it to a friend to use about 9 years ago and it came back with a load of porn on the hard drive!

Result! Er... I mean, gosh, what an inconsiderate friend

 

[Flying_Monkey]

Unless you are wanting to use the computer to play games, I can't see a lot of point in having a desktop these days. My wife and I have two Mac laptops - and they are brilliant, have never gone wrong and can handle everything we need them for (every kind of office task, browsing anywhere - because Mac laptops have excellent built-in wireless capabilities - and multi-media). We don't even bother with a DVD player at home, we just hook our data projector up to one and show films on the wall.