Yeah, but you don’t count; you’ve got a crush on him.
I hate trackpads also. I have a trackball mouse, that you don’t have to roll around, and works great in cramped areas like planes.
I’ve got big clunky hands, and have no trouble typing. I’ve only used my laptop in a coffee shop once, but that was to do a final run through of a talk I was giving, so that was pretty handy.
I have mine on a desk most of the time, and it takes up a lot less space than a desktop would.
Not NiCd (although I have one such laptop - it has a 386 processor), but there are still a number of operational machines out there which run on NiMH batteries - these work best when they’re charge-cycled properly. Lithium Ion ones prefer being kept topped up.
This is kinda the crux of it IMHO. Desktop machines, dollar for dollar are far more powerful creatures and orders of magnitude easier to repair or upgrade. The sad thing IMHO is people who are buying $1500 laptops thinking they are getting equivalent performance to their desk bound counterparts and its not even close. Its kinda like comparing a handheld circular saw to a tablesaw. Sure they both cut wood well, and can perform the same tasks in most cases, but a tablesaw easily develops/delivers far more power to the task than any hand saw.
I have also seen alot of places where you have an office full of laptops that never move and people feel like its some kind of status symbol that. Alot of the"cool points" for laptops go right out the windows when you need one fixed out of warranty. Businesses who buy laptops for deskbound staff, are IMNSHO idiots.
I use my laptop for casual surfing, light photo editing, the occasional game or two, client presentations, and things like that. The desktop I use for hardcore processor-intensive applications like editing thousands of photos at a time (although I used to do that with my laptop). As much as I enjoy my desktop, I prefer the laptop for most purposes.
Me, I lament the virtual demise of the “eraserhead” trackpoint device. Yeah, right, so sue me for being weird – I really could handle that thing far, far better than I ever could a trackpad. Plus with the trackpad in the place it is, I’m always accidentally swooping a thumb over it and sending my cursor God knows where across the page. first thing I do is get me an inexpensive USB mouse or trackball and disable that pad…
Silly boy, it’s called the Clitoris Mouse.
Somewhere someone must have made an adult game where if you move it just right you get the computer off. Sort of a guitar hero game for the swinger set.
I’ve been a laptop guy for work for almost 8 years now, as long as I have worked at my current employer. We moved everyone working for the dotcom division (where I work, in ops) to laptops about two years ago. It’s a huge help to be able to take my computer with me so I can work without having to go to my desk.
I’m not having the same issues with undersized keyboard and monitor that VC03 is, though – I’m using a Compaq nw9440 with a 17" 1920x1280 monitor and a full-size keyboard with a 10-key. It costs about $3000, so it’s not exactly what the average college kid is buying for his dorm room.
At home, I game (and surf the Dope) on a dedicated desktop machine, because I want higher performance than I can get in a laptop.
I don’t get the disdain for laptops. Yes, some of them suck, but that’s true of all computers. I’d rather have a decent laptop with a small screen and touchpad than a crappy desktop with a flickery tube monitor and a mouse crusted up with Cheetos.
On a bit of further thinking… It’s possible that VC03 is simply trolling. Kind of looks like it, but I think there is another option.
What if he’s just completely unable to conceptualize that his experiences, perspectives and conclusions are not universal? His laptop is stupid and shitty, therefore all laptops are stupid and shitty, and people who buy them are idiots. Anyone who disagrees with him is just being confrontational.
Uh, yes, but it’s my newest piece of so-and-so.
I have a MacBook, and it’s the first laptop I’ve used that I actually like. Apple made a lot of nice design decisions that keep it small and light but usable for what I need it for. (Only thing I wish it had is more USB ports.) That said, my desktop is still my workhorse and is a homebrew. If I had to give up one of my computers, it’d be the laptop.
So while I won’t say that laptops are stupid and shitty, I do often find them to be lousy pieces of technology. Kinda like how a ton of companies make MP3 players, but a lot of them are simply pieces of crap.
I think you’re close, but there’s a little more to it than that. I think what really is going on is that he simply disdains people who have legitimate needs for a laptop. He has said that he hates people he perceives as rich. But his perception of rich is not just REAL rich…this “perception” includes people who are actually middle class. Middle class people are often people with the kinds of jobs that require working on the go (which kind of requries a laptop), and, as I said earlier, doing mundane tasks like writing memos and preparing presentations (the kinds of things that a laptop is perfectly adequate for). Like I said, it’s a disguise pitting of those folks.
When we had a recent dopefest here in Chicago, VCO3 said he wasn’t going to come because we all hate him (even though I and at least one other person said it wasn’t true at all, and wanted him to come). The funny thing about it is that none of the people who were there have ever said anything that I’ve seen that indicate that they hate him. In fact, HE has been the one who, indirect though it may be, has said that HE hates some of the folks who were there, by virtue of how he would perceive their social class. Between that and threads like this one, I’m starting to think what he really gets off on is trying to figure out all the ways he can set himself off from the crowd, and then feel like a persecuted outcast because of it (his threads about building circuitboards on a plane would be another example of it). It’s not exactly trolling, but it is an attention-grabbing device.
Because the wife won’t let me put a desk in the toilet.
Because of their nipplelike size and color and because it’s a pun, I prefer “titmouse.”
Obviously the OP has never had to configure a network, router, switch, firewll, etc while leaning over a trailer balanced on one foot with the laptop precariously balanced on one knee. Or ever attempted to work in an airport/hotel room (be kind of funny if you had to lug your desktop through an airport then try and figure out where to plug it in on the plane). Attempting to use a desktop machine for what I do would be pretty much impossible.
Why would anyone buy one? Because they are pretty much vital to those of us who have to work in the real world. C’est la vie.
-XT
Well, you know, when you are flying with an excellent diversion like a circuit board to work on, who needs a computer?
Truly odd topic but anyway I love laptops.
My “desktop” is a Dell laptop with every bell and whistle I could add. Its attached to a docking station and flat screen monitor and sits quietly on the floor, under one side of the desk: my scanner sits atop the docking station so everything is compact and hidden. If the power goes out here at work (has happened) I don’t lose a word. Every data collection computer in my lab is a laptop for the same reason. If there were to be a fire or other disaster (has NOT happened) I bring all my work with me.
My other computer is a Sony Vaio. Small screen is not scrunched when the guy in front of me reclines his airline seat. With the larger battery I can work transatlantic non-stop (i.e., 7+ hours).
I cannot imagine ever buying a desktop again, or getting worked up over this topic.
I don’t think I have even turned on my desktop more than five times since I got a laptop almost 9 months ago. I use it for surfing, gaming, and most importantly, my job. As a writer, I am no longer confined to working in one room and that is a godsend. If it’s a nice day, I can write outside. If I’m cooking something with a new recipe, I can bring it into the kitchen with me. If I go on the road, all my files are with me. I have a Dell with a 17" monitor and 2 Gigs of RAM and I have yet to find a task important to me that I’m unable to accomplish. It doesn’t get hot, it doesn’t make any noise, and after probably a couple of weeks of adjustment, I actually prefer to type on it. I plug my USB wireless mouse into it and I’m good to go.
I was once of the mindset that the people carrying their laptops around looked silly. And now, I’m one of them and happy as can be. Best computer purchase I have made in a long time.