Help...need reasons to buy a laptop

i have a rev. a 12 inch G4 PB, i can say that its unlikely that i will ever get a desktop again. i dont need that sort of power to begin with, but anyways. i like the fact that i have no bulky system on my desk all of the time like a tower and a monitor, its basically an all in one thats portable. i really dont even take my book with me everywhere, but i CAN. if my friends and i are sitting downstairs talking about something and drinkin or whatever and we really want to know something online, i can just run upstairs and grab my book and we can surf for what crazy thing it is... portablility has more applications than you realize...its also the main reason to get a laptop...if you have no use whatsoever for a portable then by all means disregard everything i just said

hope this helps at least a little

I never owned a mac, and I never wanted to... until i did some research... and now i want one.. so I am gonna start off with a Laptop.... iBook here i come... i want a PB, but the funds arent there lol

You want me to tell you why I like my laptop but I can't say it's because it's portable? Sorry, but that is why I have it. I use it at work, then take it home. When I go on vacation I take it with me. It's just for portability and doing things without wires.

I've yet found a hot spot around my house that doesn't require me to pay for it. My reason for a laptop is simply for its portability. I take it wherever I like, and it'll come in handy for my new business that I'm starting. Of course, I have to sell it now because of Apple's 'loan,' but it was an amazing experience from the beginning. I'll definitely miss it.

0s and 1s said:

I've yet found a hot spot around my house that doesn't require me to pay for it.

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Yeah, tell it to the judge...We've all heard that one before, buddy...

Portability is THE reason to get a laptop. I love being able to use my PowerBook on the sofa... just last night I traded funny links with a friend and told her a bedtime story, all from my sofa thanks to 802.11g. For you, it could be all about having something you can use to take to meetings and show your work to clients on the computer screen. Just a thought in that regard.

Bhennies said:

LOL. I know what you mean. I guess I'm wondering if people tend to find WiFi spots frequently, do they tend to do more work because they have their computer with them, watch DVD's on long trips etc. Sorry for not being specific.

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WiFi is never far away. I have a good signal all around my house, which is nice. I can work from the sofa, bed, or balcony and access things on my other computers--plus print. That's definitely a good thing. I set up WiFi at work--but don't tell IT--and have similar benefits. Out on the road it's easy enough to get access--you just have to pay for it sometimes.

I'd say I get more work done on my laptop--not just because of the WiFi, but because it's a Mac. I've had other laptops but I didn't use them nearly as much. Syncing between desktop and laptop was a pain, and Windows was a pain. "It just works" isn't just an ad slogan. I'm more productive because of my Mac. As a result I need to keep one near me at all times.

jet3004 said:

Yeah, tell it to the judge...We've all heard that one before, buddy...

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Ooops...let me rephrase. I've only found hotspots such as the ones in Border, Barnes & Nobles, and Starbucks that require you to pay something like 7 dollars for WiFi. There are no free hot spots around my area!

I'm a writer. I get twice as much writing done now, thanks to my laptop, than I ever did when I was chained to a desk. This is because I can take my laptop out into the world--not just to coffee houses, but to librarys, to writers retreats and conventions in other states and countries. To readings. I was at a convention just last week where I read a chapter aloud to listeners right off my little 12" powerbook. My husband, also a writer, needs to collaborate on his work with artists and editors, and his laptop is a Godsend.

Consider this one instance: My husband was working on a project. The editor wanted to see some sample art on the project--there was a deadline. My husband went to a coffee house to meet with some friends. While there, he e-mailed the artist. As he was about to leave, my husband stumbled across a magazine with some great ideas for the artwork. He went next door to Kinkos, scanned the magazine images onto his laptop and e-mailed them to the artist. Went and had lunch. Watched a DVD while he ate. Afterwards, he headed off to the university library to do some research. Checking his e-mail, he found that the artist had e-mailed the art to him. He e-mailed it to the editor.

There's a whole world out there of information, ideas and meetings. Why let yourself be locked into a cubical with your computer? Take it with you instead. Be free. Be productive. Be creative.

thank you

i am in exactly the same boat (except my G5 is only a G4 400 )
i am a web/print designer starting a small freelance biz, and use protools for my music. i have been shaking with my credit card in-hand since 9:00 monday morning trying to justify a PB.

i can say this from experience: with an mbox and PB you can record any sound you want in the field, weather it's a grand piano in a music hall, or the sound of crickets in your back yard. that just rules.

oh, and i'm also hoping meeting with clients with a PB just makes me look that much cooler and "worth it"

ooo, ooo! make the numbers work so you can get a DIGI 002 for the PB! makes the field recording that much more fun

man, i need cheaper hobbies...

I went portable before I went Mac. And yes, it's the portability. But I'll try to be more specific:

I spend so much of my time chained to a desk at work that I don't want to spend my time at home chained to another desk. I'm more comfortable on the sofa or on my bed anyway.

In fact, with a laptop, you don't need a desk at all. I have a little wheeled cart that's got my computer stuff on it, and mostly leave the laptop there...unless, of course, I put it down somewhere else. There's no longer need to dedicate a large amount of permanent space to the computer.

With AirPort, I can do whatever I need to, wherever I want to. I've often brought one of the laptops downstairs so that I could check email and pay bills in the dining room while cooking dinner. If I had a desktop, I'd have to run up to the computer room, and back down to check on the food.

And though I don't travel often, it's nice to be able to have the option for Web and email at any hotspot, as well as being able to watch a DVD or two.

I'll never go back to a desktop, no matter how cool the G5 is.

Bhennies said:

I also am thinking that I would like to have a laptop as well...purely for portability...[snip]...What do you all (those that have laptops) count as the most vital reasons you have them (please be specific if possible ie. NOT portability- let me know if you've become attached to having a portable and why).

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Ummm... but you wanted it purely for portability, right? So portability! Reason enough, eh? OK... more reasons, most of them dumb:

1) Laptops are smaller than desktops, so takes up less room in landfill, thus when you finally do dispose of your computer you will be helping your planet!

2) Laptops are smaller, so they are easier to move when you buy a new house.

3) Laptops are smaller, so they have less albedo than a desktop (if the desktop was outside and reflecting sunlight back into the atmosphere, that is). Hence a laptop will prevent the next ice age. (can you tell I am taking a historical geology class?)

4) Laptops are smaller, so you can put them on your lap. If you have an urge to put your desktop on your lap you might hurt yourself.

5) Laptops are smaller, so they fit easier in the refrigerator for EXTREME cooling.

6) Laptops are less upgradable... why bother buying a desktop computer, since you will just keep upgrading it? get a laptop and you have a reason to buy a newer one when the purchasing-mad fever has you in its hold again.

7) Steve would like you better. He might even send you a Christmas card.

8) One more computer to use for Folding@Home. Go Team 3446!

9) Laptops are cool. You'll get more chicks if you are toting a laptop around. Make sure you get the 12" or they will think you are overcompensating. Or make sure you get the 17" if you need to overcompensate.

10) Laptops are portable... oh, you didn't want to hear that... did i mention their small?

Cheers!

Nny said:

Laptops are smaller, so you can put them on your lap. If you have an urge to put your desktop on your lap you might hurt yourself.

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LOL! All of the above

0s and 1s said:

Ooops...let me rephrase. I've only found hotspots such as the ones in Border, Barnes & Nobles, and Starbucks that require you to pay something like 7 dollars for WiFi. There are no free hot spots around my area!

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Slight digression: If the cost / benefit works, you might consider wireless broadband, which is now available in the larger markets - certainly your area of Los Angeles. I find free wifi spots all over now from law firm conference rooms in DC to corporate offices where I end up at meetings, and certainly in more and more hotels (also use a wireless home network). Outside of those settings, the wireless broadband may be most cost effective and flexability-enhancing addition to a PB (or any laptop). If you want to go work on a bench in park or in your car in a parking lot when you're 20 min early for a meeting due to the unexpected lack of traffic - OR if you go to B&N or such a lot and just don't want to pay $7 all of the time for their wifi.

If you have kids they're great on long trips. No need to buy a car with a DVD player. How about that I just saved you 30,000 dollars so you can buy us both new laptops and still be ahead of the game.

tekmate said:

If you have kids they're great on long trips. No need to buy a car with a DVD player. How about that I just saved you 30,000 dollars so you can buy us both new laptops and still be ahead of the game.

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I used to just look out the window. I wish more kids did that now.