I was having a friendly discussion with someone this morning about PC and Laptops for work/education stuff, he suggested that I could use a chromebook for all this stuff and this would be a good idea and make things easier. I strongly disagreed with this, mainly because I hate laptops, the keyboard and touchpad make me angry and my PC does everything I need. Most things are synced to my phone for the rare times I may want to add something while out and about. So I thought I’d come here and seek other peoples opinions on laptops vs pc your needs? also if you are feeling bored and want to head on over to the survey ive linked and fill in a few questions I can more easily gather data to make into fun graphs, which if the data agrees with me, I can shove it in his face or should I be in the minority I can let him have this win.
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Lightweight/low-power laptop (aka chromebook) + homeserver seems ideal, IMO. Especially if you have gigabit upstream at home, and know how to set up a VPN.
I can’t use a laptop for work (graphics intensive, need a powerhouse) but I would if I could. I love being able to use it literally anywhere I go—at my desk, in bed, on the toilet, on vacation, on the bus, at a cafe, etc—and…
I installed a headless Debian OS, added a keyboard-focused window manager and I don’t have to futz with the trackpad nor find a place to put an attached mouse. It also is a much slower drain on the battery. Best of all worlds.
I use it for web-browsing, word-processing/spreadsheets, checking email, making memes, coding, managing my home network, controlling my headless SBC, and modding. Also occasionally for cyber CTFs or remoting into my desktop at least to do so.
I live offgrid in a campervan, which places limits the amount of power and interior space I can devote to computing. So a vanilla laptop for me.
the keyboard and touchpad make me angry
External kb/mice are allowed. :-) Using a mechanical kb with my laptop right now.
“the keyboard and touchpad make me angry”
I think you need to try this out with an open mind. Plenty of people use laptops as their only computer, only with trackpad. Plenty others just toss a Bluetooth mouse in their bag and use that.
I get using a PC, but a laptop does have its advantages.Both. Both is good
Though depending on your situation a laptop will do both, think the thing you’re missing is that you can plug a laptop into a monitor mouse and keyboard the same way you do a PC and it will be functionally identical, except you have the option to unplug it and take it with you if you need to
Personally I have a gaming PC at home and a laptop for work, and a USB c hub that lets me plug said laptop in and use it as a desktop if needed. Perfect setup imo
This is exactly what I do too, plus a tablet for quick notes or reading when I’m studying or somewhere a laptop might feel a bit excessive (basically anywhere that I need to be waiting for something).
I’ve got a pine64 tablet on the way that I’m quite excited for. Going to run gnome mobile and waydroid so I can switch between android and Linux at will and use it as a laptop if need be
PC is short for personal computer, which includes both laptop and desktop form factors.
But to answer the question, I generally prefer a desktop because you can upgrade them and work on them more easily.
I like the concept of laptops but I hate using them. When I’m away from my house I don’t need a computer. I’m barely able to find a use for my phone when I’m out and about.
Under normal circumstances I prefer desktop since, at least mine, has plenty of USB plugs when compared to the crummy laptop I currently have. I also have never really been a huge fan of laptop keyboards or trackpads over a standard USB mouse and keyboard.
The only thing my laptop currently has/does that better my computer is the ability to more easily carry it around and that it has a detachable touch screen monitor thing. Otherwise, I’d say my desktop is superior in just about every other way.
Your choice of vocabulary is a bit odd.
A laptop can be a full fledged computer. Chromebooks are specialty devices that lack the functionality of a standard desktop or laptop computer. I’m not sure if the term “netbook” is still used these days, but that’s how I would describe a Chromebook. It’s not a full laptop.
I prefer a full laptop, not a Chromebook. I am not a power user, so it can run all of the games I play on it just fine (high end modern games will not work obviously). I can take it with me anywhere and it was a lifesaver for note taking in grad school. If I’m traveling, I can just stuff it in my backpack and go.
At home, I keep my laptop connected to a keyboard, mouse, and an additional monitor, giving me dual monitor support. It’s easy to bring that desktop comfort you’re used to to it.
PC. I love a beefy rig for gaming. I build myself so it is cheaper than laptop. My Smart TV is like a tablet with a big screen and has taken over some things that my PC used to do.
For work and general browsing, I prefer a laptop. But for gaming, I definitely prefer a beefy desktop.
Completely depends if you need to carry it around.
For best of both worlds: Docked laptop with full monitor and maybe keyboard. You can find monitors everywhere for cheap.
If you only use your computer for the most basic of operations (browsing the Internet, watching Netflix, writing documents, etc.), Chromebooks are fine. However, I’m assuming this discussion is about laptops versus desktops.
Basically, all you need to care about between laptops and desktops is the balance between portability, power, and affordability. If you travel a lot, get a laptop. If you need the processing power for video editing or gaming, get a desktop. If you need to edit videos while traveling, get a gaming laptop. If you don’t need any of those, get a second-hand Dell desktop.
If you need to use a laptop but hate the keyboard and trackpad, nothing is stopping you from chucking a separate mechanical keyboard and a mouse into your backpack. A lot of people in tech actually just do that.
Laptop. I’m simply not in one place long enough for a desktop to be useful.
In regards to focus and typing speed, laptops seem to do it best for me. My laptop is usually in sleep, and my desktop off, so it’s much faster to bring it from sleep and do what I need to do. A laptop, too, was my first computer, so I feel fairly comfortable with the experience unless I really need a mouse. Desktops are insanely comfortable, though, and I guess primarily that’s what I’d use, but thankfully I can do about equal things on both outside of gaming, so it’s mainly about how I’m feeling at the time.
