[Jim]

Due to a furniture issue, been thinking about ditching the desktop and getting a decent laptop instead, purely so we don't have to have a computer desk in the house. I do much prefer using a desktop TBH but either need to sell a very nice sideboard to make space for a computer desk or ditch the desktop.
Anybody ditched their desktop and regretted it or thought why didn't I do this ages ago???

[kelvin]

Me.

Was worried about only having a laptop, as I need to use the thing for work (invoicing etc) but so glad I ditched the desktop. Win all round.

[Oldmanmatt]

I initially ditched the desktop for a laptop, but still kept it around for the big screen when I was using CAD a lot.
Now it's redundant and gathers dust (except the one we use for PAYE, which gets an hour or two once a month).
The laptop had a fit, about a year ago and is still "awaiting repair", because it turned out that was redundant too...

The entire family and now two businesses, run on tablets and a 3TB server (at home, a "My Book"), which gives us access to all our data etc anywhere, anytime.

Now the thought of firing up a windows based system and waiting half a life time before it's ready to use, is just plain irritating.



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[Muenchener]

I've been laptop-only for the last couple of years and haven't missed the big screen.

I would want the big screen for any serious photo editing, but hadn't done any of that for a while anyway.

[Zods Beard]

I just use a laptop Jim and you know how good I am with computers..

[Falling Down]

I've not used a desktop since the 90's. Laptops all the way.

[remus]

Laptops are fine these days, especially if you splash a bit of cash on something with a decent CPU, a few gig of ram and an SSD.

If you're still worried about the computing power/stability/expansion/whatever of the laptop, a nice compromise is to leave the desktop plugged in to your home network and stick it in a cupboard somewhere. You can then use remote desktop to connect to it and basically just use it like you normally would. Also has the advantage that it's essentially a server, so if you're feeling keen you can make it do lots of cool stuff (network storage, media hub sort of setup, even run a website from it if you're really keen.)

[slackline]

Now the thought of firing up a windows based system and waiting half a life time before it's ready to use, is just plain irritating.

Your NAS will be running a GNU/Linux variant (they all do since the license is far cheaper than M$-Win).

Personally I've not made the switch, mainly 'cause I find typing on anything other than an ergonomic keyboard a pain in the arse wrists.  But then the vast majority of people probably don't use the keyboard a great deal.  I do have a laptop for when I go travelling and can use the keyboard but I tend to only use the laptop for editing pictures whilst travelling or taking to work for presentations/meetings for making notes.

[Oldmanmatt]

One missing point here is, you can plug in both a larger screen and a more ergonomic keyboard and any number of external drives; when using a laptop.


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[slackline]

Kebyoard can be wireless, although personally I've never found using a Bluetooth keyboard on my lap that comfortable/easy since my wrists aren't supported in the same way as when sat at a desk.

Plugging in a HDMI cable isn't much hassle, but it would be be great if you could just cast your desktop to the screen. (Not ever tried this though, since I still have a desktop I use  )

[TheTwig]

  slightly, but SSD's are amazing. I got a 128gb one in my tower PC with a 3TB external hard drive I keep for file sharing, movies and whatnot. The speed of a SSD compared to a normal drive is crazy.

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Having a keyboard accessory of some type on a laptop/PC or tablet is useful for teaching kids to use one. Keyboard skills don't tend to get taught in schools much and I think it's still one of the most important skills someone can have. Despite everything we haven't moved away from using a Qwerty keyboard and it is useful in virtually any career. Laptop keyboards are ok, but you can't beat a proper PC setup with separate monitor for learning to type.

[tomtom]

I've not owned a desktop since 2003. I have a second monitor at home and work to plug in when I need to do things with two screens/more real estate...

[slackline]

slightly, but SSD's are amazing. I got a 128gb one in my tower PC with a 3TB external hard drive I keep for file sharing, movies and whatnot. The speed of a SSD compared to a normal drive is crazy.

I've a similar setup a 250Gb SSD for the OS and /home/ then two 3Tb in RAID1 (mirroring) for music/pictures/films/work.

Why isn't your 3Tb drive inside the computer?  Unless you've USB3 then the USB connection will be a bottleneck in your transfer rates compared to SATA.