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Anyone buy a notebook, and never leaves home?

M

MrMister111

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jan 28, 2009
3,900
382
UK
I have an old iMac that needs updating now really. It’s used only by me now, and is on a desk out of the way.

I’m wondering now, not a power user, use my iPhone and iPad 80% of the time now, to get a notebook instead.

Wondering if anyone else has a notebook and never takes them out of house, presumedly what designed for?

I’m just thinking can airplay to my large TV, or get a monitor for the desk, but I’d never take out of house.

What I’m concerned with is the small 13” compared to my 21.5” when using the notebook.
 
I have a 2011 MBP so I can use it from the couch. It only leaves home when it goes to the repair shop. I sit all day at a desk at work, don’t want to do that when I get home.
 
Aye, my old 2013 13” never left the home! Always connected to my monitor and use it externally.

Only a few times a year I use the internal display/keyboard/trackpad
 
My 2011 MBP rarely leaves the house. For work I have a Dell laptop that is lighter and I use that when not at home (well, at home too because my Mac is not allowed to connect to work VPN). When I get a new computer it'll probably be another MBP (hopefully next batch of MBP's will be desirable, not super thrilled about the current batch). An iMac wouldn't work because I want an external display to hook up work computer, can't do that with an iMac. Mac Pro is too expensive. So that leaves MBP or MB Air. I'm not a super power user so maybe the Air will suffice, just wish it had more ports. Or base MBP but want at least 512g ssd inside.

Not sure if I want 13" or 15/16". I like the lightness of my 14" Dell. 13" may be too small, but if I'm using external display 90% of the time it wouldn't matter.

Since my MBP lost it's GPU I can't use my external display anymore but really loving using the trackpad. I miss that when using external keyboard/mouse. Maybe Magic Trackpad would suffice but it's not right under the keyboard like when using the laptop directly.
 
I have two Macbook Airs that serve very well as at home "desktops" for managing photos, music, books, spreadsheets, wordprocessing documents, and miscellaneous downloads. I usually surf and stream on an iPad, but occasionally on the Airs. I never felt that I had to go back to a desktop, got rid of my Compaq when I retired in 2010 and switched to Apple. I like ports and will stay on older equipment/os for as long as possible.
 
I do travel with my MBP, but even if I didn’t, I’d still get it versus an iMac because I like the portability. I’ll frequently work or play on it around the house - on the couch, on the back patio, in my home office, etc. Having the opportunity for changes of scenery is important to me.

Now of course, I don’t need a 21.5+” screen either for what I do. It could be that you would prioritize screen size over portability. But I really like being able to move around...
 
I bring it pretty much everywhere I know I may be using my iPhone to surf the web or social media, typically at work I use it to help multi task some work. outside of work besides home, places like malls or friends place is nice to have it around, you make use of it in moments the least expected lol
 
It’s just my iMac is limited use now as rest of family don’t use, it’s only me.

I use my iPad most of the time, it’s just that I still need it for certain things, particularly Photo’s still need it. Although gets less and less use.

Wonder how easy and practical it is to airplay to my TV to have the big screen if sitting on couch?

For those that don’t take it out of house, do you just use the Mac screen all the time? It’s something that I’m not sure on, as in the smaller screen size compare to my iMac.

It’s a really expensive purchase tbh for just an upgrade, I’d want it to last years and years as well, iMac is 2012....
 
I use a 2018 MacBook Pro on my desk - rarely moves anywhere else.
Although I prefer working off of a laptop, in hindsight I wish I had just got an iMac as I would have got a higher spec for the money, but at the time the newer iMac models hadn't been released and I didn't want to buy into old tech.
Now I use the MacBook for everything and its running fine, I'm just going to stick with it.
 
Ifti said:
Although I prefer working off of a laptop, in hindsight I wish I had just got an iMac as I would have got a higher spec for the money.
Click to expand...
That’s another point, Basic MacBook Pro or Air vs the basic iMac how much better spec wise is iMac?

Think I’d go for 256Gb so looks like this for Uni prices

Air £1168
Pro £1348
iMac 4K £1206

MisterSavage said:
I used to have a Macbook Pro that never left my desk. That's why I have an iMac now.
Click to expand...
That’s exact reason for question really! I won’t take out of house, iPad if I ever do, maybe twice a year! But I’m thinking of ability to use on couch.
 
MrMister111 said:
That’s exact reason for question really! I won’t take out of house, iPad if I ever do, maybe twice a year! But I’m thinking of ability to use on couch.
Click to expand...

For couch use I was just using my iPad and if it was something that required a lot of typing I didn't want to do it from my couch anyway. I really love the big screen of my iMac. I just bought a cheap Chromebook for having a laptop when I travel. I actually like that setup much better because I'm not worried about a mega-expensive laptop getting stolen.
 
MisterSavage said:
For couch use I was just using my iPad and if it was something that required a lot of typing I didn't want to do it from my couch anyway. I really love the big screen of my iMac. I just bought a cheap Chromebook for having a laptop when I travel. I actually like that setup much better because I'm not worried about a mega-expensive laptop getting stolen.
Click to expand...

The conundrum.....

I’ve read that if powered, you can airplay to TV say, close lid and use a Bluetooth mode and keyboard, so could use that for typing.

There’s also the battery to consider, even though would use mostly powered, I’d imagine the battery will still degrade
 
MrMister111 said:
That’s exact reason for question really! I won’t take out of house, iPad if I ever do, maybe twice a year! But I’m thinking of ability to use on couch.
Click to expand...

As iPads get more powerful I think more and more people are going to be asking this question.

I have an iPad Pro 11 and a few weeks for the first time took it to give presentations to clients on Machine Learning. This included hands on coding. I was able to display slides to a projector, and use the pencil to annotate the slides in real time!! Also, I could code on an online website in real time, thanks for mouse and keyboard support.

So all in all I had no need to my MacBook Pro. And with iPadOS now having mouse support, external file support, etc. this will only get better and better.

So do I need a laptop? No sure, since I also have a desktop with multiple monitors.
 
I have been using a 2013 MacBook Pro (Retina 13") in the house for six years. My only computer and it has served me very well. I think it has left the house twice. I have tried an iPad now and then but much prefer the laptop.
 
My MBP rarely leaves the house. Only occasionally for "DJ'ing" at a charity event and fantasy football draft night.
Pros: portability, even if it's within your home; all-in-one package.
Cons: smaller screen size; price, especially if you add an external monitor and other peripherals; smaller storage capacities
 
My (overpowered) MBP13 (2019) 2.4Ghz/16gb/512gb never leaves my table. I use it for web browsing, a little bit of Spotify... and that's basically it! Complete waste of money? Yes. Would I like a MBA instead? Yes. Do I still love my MBP? YES! ;-)
 
I do all my serious creative work on my 2012 Mac Pro (would have bought a replacement this year if they had come out with a new Mac Pro, but instead they are introducing an "Enterprise" machine and just calling it a "Mac Pro" - the stripped down base model at $6,000 targets a different audience)

My 2015 MacBook Pro never leaves the house. I use it by my recliner to surf the Internet, watch video tutorials, etc.
 
I do, on my couch or the desk, while having the ability to take it somewhere if I ever need to down the line. Gives me a lot of headroom, I can still hook it up to a monitor and use it like a desktop, and even with editing video laptops these days are pretty damn fast and i’ve never felt like I needed anymore than that. Unless you’re doing 3D work or gaming/streaming at the same time or something crazy like that...laptops fine:)
 
So all these “stay at home” laptops, do you just use internal screen or use airplay to a TV or connect to a monitor on a desk etc please?
 
MrMister111 said:
So all these “stay at home” laptops, do you just use internal screen or use airplay to a TV or connect to a monitor on a desk etc please?
Click to expand...
Internal Retina screen on my 13” MacBook Pro. No need for anything larger for my needs. Others likely have other requirements.
 
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