# Is this laptop unacceptably unprofessional-looking? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 13, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-laptop-unacceptably-unprofessional-looking/567501 "2011-01-13T19:27:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-laptop-unacceptably-unprofessional-looking/567501/41 "2011-01-16T18:16:10Z")
Looks fine to me. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-laptop-unacceptably-unprofessional-looking/567501/42 "2011-01-17T08:46:28Z")
> [@Picard\_Kills\_Kirk](#): > > If it were my office, I would wonder why one of my employees needs a work computer from a company known for their gaming machines. But it’s not “a work computer”. It’s a case where you are required to provide your own computer to be used at work: unlike a work-provided computer, it is not limited to work uses. My current client demands Windows XP Pro, and the IT dude was totally freaked out about my having it on dual boot (with its original XP Home) until I explained that, if they forced me to have only one OS and only one account on what is, after all, _my personal property_, then that single account would have Skype, IM… would they want that? No? Then dual boot it is! I didn’t even need to mention Civil and WoW 😛 ---
**Author:** ![ecseas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ecseas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ecseas)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2011, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-laptop-unacceptably-unprofessional-looking/567501/43 "2011-01-18T03:55:58Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > Warning about small laptops: > This spring, I bought a mini from HP. > It was small, can’t remember how small. At any rate, I tried to download Windows Office, and I wasn’t able to. Why not? Because, the monitor on it had too small a…well, I can’t remember. At any rate, to download many programs, your monitor resolution, or some such, needs to have a certain amount of something on it. > That struck me as madness, but, that was the situation. The mini only had the option of the one size, so, I was forced to download Open Office (which is great, but, WO was absolutely essential for my job.) > > At any rate, to the OP: I can see it being to close a call. In my job, everybody has laptops, but there, nobody gives a hang if anybody else dies spitting blood, or eating cake. If you are in a conservative type environment, leave off the aliens. > > best wishes, > hh I have a ten inch eee netbook and it runs office. ---
**Author:** ![Brainiac4](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brainiac4/32/3534_2.png) [@Brainiac4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac4)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2011, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-laptop-unacceptably-unprofessional-looking/567501/44 "2011-01-18T05:07:35Z")
Go for it. Worst case scenario is that people think you’re a geek. I bet you can live with that. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2011, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-laptop-unacceptably-unprofessional-looking/567501/45 "2011-01-18T19:40:59Z")
I’m just confused that a (mildly) blinged-out computer is really the best deal. You can’t find the same specs (to within what would actually be noticeable in use), without the blinkenlighten for cheaper, really? If I saw someone with one, I’d tend to think not so much ‘unprofessional’ as ‘victim of marketing’. But I haven’t specced out laptops recently, so, hey, I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-laptop-unacceptably-unprofessional-looking/567501/46 "2011-01-19T09:24:46Z")
The problem, as far as I could tell when I was looking at computers last year, is that companies selling that kind of specs do “blinkenlighten” them. You want a laptop with a decent graphic card, the assumption is not that you need to edit graphics on the run (think photographer on the field, for example), it’s that you’re a gamer and want to impress your gamer friends, and they insist in selling you bling with that. The places I knew which used to sell “made to order” computers with those specs that weren’t blingy have either gone blingy or lost the “to order” line. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-laptop-unacceptably-unprofessional-looking/567501/47 "2011-01-19T13:37:33Z")
Computer with some style? Why not? We can’t all walk around as minimalists. Well we could, but it doesn’t appear most would want to. In a corporate job, you might want to come off as progressive to some people, and sensible to the others. Little things, such as style, really matter. A gamer laptop with mild bling is just fine. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-laptop-unacceptably-unprofessional-looking/567501/48 "2011-01-20T15:46:56Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > I’m just confused that a (mildly) blinged-out computer is really the best deal. You can’t find the same specs (to within what would actually be noticeable in use), without the blinkenlighten for cheaper, really? > > If I saw someone with one, I’d tend to think not so much ‘unprofessional’ as ‘victim of marketing’. But I haven’t specced out laptops recently, so, hey, I could be wrong. Alienware probably benefits (price-wise) from being owned by Dell. There are many other gaming laptops that are cheaper or more powerful, but not at that size (that I could find). > [@Nava](#): > > The problem, as far as I could tell when I was looking at computers last year, is that companies selling that kind of specs do “blinkenlighten” them. You want a laptop with a decent graphic card, the assumption is not that you need to edit graphics on the run (think photographer on the field, for example), it’s that you’re a gamer and want to impress your gamer friends, and they insist in selling you bling with that. The places I knew which used to sell “made to order” computers with those specs that weren’t blingy have either gone blingy or lost the “to order” line. Photographers don’t necessarily need a decent graphics card; the cards mainly provide a boost to 3D rendering performance. Photoshop [_can_ be graphics-card accelerated](http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/405/kb405745.html) to some extent, but doesn’t need to be… its core functions work fine with any standard recent CPU. There are still a few customizable laptop outfits around: Falcon Northwest, Sager, iBuyPower, etc. And Asus makes so many different models they might as well be custom. None of these guys bling out their laptops as much as Alienware (unless you pay them extra to), but none of them offer things in the same size-performance-price combination as the M11x either. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-laptop-unacceptably-unprofessional-looking/567501.md?page=2)