I tend to use my laptop (Macbook Pro) on my lap, with a cheapo plastic lapstand. Because of my uncomfortable couch, I tend to move (myself and the computer) during use. Not all the time, but often enough.
Is this bad for my computer? Should I put in the effort to find a way to computer that doesn’t involve moving it during use?
Thanks in advance!
PS: And if anyone has any answers or knowledge to the issue I mention in this other thread, let me know!
In general, you don’t want to move laptops while they’re in operation - but the MacBook Pro has a motion sensor that rapidly moves the disk heads away from the platters when you move it. On mine (before I switched to an SSD), there is a physically and audibly noticeable clunk when this happens.
This was more of an issue ten or fifteen years ago than it is now. Think about it: iPods and the like are based on hard drives, designed to be used while jogging and committing other vigorous activities. The chances of damaging your laptop computer while squirming around on your sofa are much smaller than the chances of destroying your iPod during your morning jog…TRM
I don’t have an iPod, but I thought they were like flash drives not hard disks. It shouldn’t hurt a flash drive at all to be moved while using, though you don’t want to dismount it while it’s being written to.
There are both. The regular iPod (now called the iPod Classic) has always used a hard drive. The iPod Nano and Shuffle both use flash memory, however. This is why they don’t hold as much. I wasn’t sure about the iPod Touch, but a quick look at the Apple website shows it also uses flash memory, as I would expect, with having less space do to more components.
As for the OP’s question: Most people I know move their laptops around all the time. Some even get tablet models, which you can even use while walking. Few of them have problems. The ones that do are rough on them, throwing them around, dropping them. etc.
You’re also dealing with a Mac, which is pretty sturdily constructed. You aren’t moving it that much, really; you’re within normal operation parameters. The thing is meant to be moved around. Now, if you start throwing it around while it’s in use, that could be a bit of a problem.
Moving the laptop or even walking around is not going to be a problem. Most hard drives are designed to handle 10+ Gs even while “in use” (and 40-50+ when not in use, which is a level of impact that could potentially kill a person if you got hit in the head).
Walk around with it, it will be fine I have dropped one down the stairs and it works just fine
So I shouldn’t use it while driving.
I would consider the power plug when using it in your lap. This often gets tugged around untill you kill the receptable. I place my laptop on a board and then feed the power cord under the laptop in a loop so it doesn’t get yanked around.
On a MacBook Pro, it’s not likely to kill the receptacle. The MagSafe™ connector does a pretty good job of avoiding stress on the laptop side of the connection (the way it’s constructed, very little of the plug actually goes into the laptop). However, I have seen many of them fail on the cord side of the connection, and the adapters are pretty expensive (since Apple won’t license MagSafe™ to any third-party manufacturers, it’s hard/impossible to find cheap knock-off replacements).