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Old January 10th 19, 02:59 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general,alt.windows7.general
Mayayana
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Posts: 6,438
Default laptops (was: Win XP to Win 10?)

"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote

| Another advantage of laptops is that they have a poor man's UPS: brief
| power outages don't crash them, even if the battery's in a poor state,
| and can move from room to room without shutting down.
|
| I can see that a proper desktop, with a big keyboard and monitor, still
| holds its attraction for those with a settled lifestyle, _or_ who are
| willing to switch between devices when they travel or visit. Also, for
| those needing special machines - number-crunching, gaming, and so on.
| For me, the ability to now take this my main computer wherever I go (not
| relying on syncing services) means I can't see me ever going back to a
| desktop as my main machine

So you've joined the army of Starbucks secretaries,
earnestly staring at screens while they pretend to
be drinking coffee? (Or is it earnestly drinking coffee
while they pretend to look at screens?

I'm just the opposite of what you describe. When
I use a laptop I have it plugged in, and I don't move
from room to room. I'm also not so sure about "a
poor man's UPS". You buy a laptop for maybe $500-1200
and a UPS for $50-80. There's nothing economical
about a laptop. Small is expensive.

We have a laptop that's only used for one thing:
When I go away to the country and want to be able
to read articles saved and/or listen to audio talks.
No Internet. No typing. Just file storage and display.
I find it works OK for that. Otherwise, as far as I'm
concerned, life's too short for laptops.

Which brings up why tablets are such a bad idea.
They're more mobile than a laptop, but with an even
smaller screen, even less functionality, and limited
file access. I can't put a DVD into a tablet and then
use my choice of programs to read the files.

But doesn't it depend a lot on how you use it?
If you *must* write a report and your only free
time is on a plane, then you use a laptop. If you
can't stand to go on vacation for a week without
having email, then you use a laptop (or cellphone).
I don't do either of those things. Sometimes I miss
my computer when I go away. I figure that's a
good reason not to have access to it.

I do a fair amount of writing and reading, as well
as software coding, image editing and web design.
Sitting at a computer is best in a number of ways,
but mainly it's about ergonomics. I can sit up straight,
with a proper keyboard and trackball, and a 24" screen.
Using a laptop, to me, would be like eating dinner
out of a paper cup with a toy fork because I want
to be ready to dash out the door if necessary. I'm
not that important and my life is not that busy that
I need to live uncivilized, "on the edge of my seat".

A lot of people don't need to write reports. Many
of them wonder why anyone needs something other
than a cellphone. That seems to be the most typical
that I see now. People have a laptop somewhere,
for doing their taxes and such. But mostly they're
just Facebookies -- "doing social", texting and shopping
on their cellphones.
My neighbor, a research biologist, recently called to
ask if he could print something. He apparently has a
laptop but no printer. He just uses the one at his lab.

Most of those people answer email from a phone. It
works. But it's fooling oneself to think it's just the
same thing made easy. No one writes in any serious
way on a cellphone. If they're always on the move
so that they can't make a proper response then they're
living slapdash. They just don't realize it because
they've become so speedy. Like the email I got from
a friend yesterday: OK.thx.

It's time to stop and regroup when you find you don't
have time to type the word "thanks".


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