yeah, I only use a macbook. It's easy to hook up to an external mouse/keyboard/speakers/display, so I see no real need for a desktop. 
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notebook only users
- Thread starter tim2006
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No more desktops in this house. In fact the only thing remotely close to a desktop is my setup (external display KB & Mouse). My brother had two self built AMD desktops but got rid of em all for an HP notebook. Other brother also got an HP notebook as did my sister.
So for a while it was all HP except for me, i still had my P4 Dell Dimension BUT then i switched to a 12" PB (first mac), ditched my dell and haven't looked back since. Tried an iMac and a mini after the 12" PB but returned them for a 15" PB and from there to a 15 MBP.
Fact is, mobility is no longer an option for me, i have to have it due to Uni/College but i still like big screens and dedicated keyboards and mice....hence the desktop...ish setup.
So for a while it was all HP except for me, i still had my P4 Dell Dimension BUT then i switched to a 12" PB (first mac), ditched my dell and haven't looked back since. Tried an iMac and a mini after the 12" PB but returned them for a 15" PB and from there to a 15 MBP.
Fact is, mobility is no longer an option for me, i have to have it due to Uni/College but i still like big screens and dedicated keyboards and mice....hence the desktop...ish setup.
I've switched to using my MBP full time and plan on selling my old Dell Desktop locally. It's from 2002 so I doubt I'll be able to get a very good price.
Running XP using Bootcamp has certainly helped my transition since I do need XP to run a few programs from my university.
Running XP using Bootcamp has certainly helped my transition since I do need XP to run a few programs from my university.
I ditched my old Pentium 4 desktop for a MacBook Pro late last year with no regrets. I'm fond of desktops for the ample computing power and good value, but currently a notebook computer is the best fit for my needs.
I have no room for a desktop in my little apartment. I have a 17" Macbook Pro on the coffee table, just got an effing sweet deal on a "dead" 15" MBP that I brought back to life today. I just sold off my little 12" too but I am regretting it of course. I loved that size, but I cross my fingers every Tuesday morning for a smaller MBP.
I bought a Mini for my wife when they first came out. Her Dell desktop gets fired-up every couple months to prevent the motherboard from cracking. But, she also wanted to use the computer upstairs and was considering moving into a spot in MY office. So, I bought he a loaded Dell XPS. She used it, but was not thrilled. When the MacBook Core Dual came out, I bought her the black one, loaded. She is in heaven. My dad has a hand-me-down eMac. I decided to give him the G4 Mini and buy my wife a new tricked-out one. She says, "Do not bother, I just want to use "BlackMac". So, there you go...a notebook only gal!
Good on you!
I hope you won't mind if I expand the topic a bit. WHY haven't more people unchained themselves from their desktop?
Since 2000/2001, I've successfully run 3 businesses, 2 of them simultaneously, using only two Sony Ericsson T-phones (first the T306, then the T606/616, both browser-enabled, each averaging 250-300 Mgs in activity on the WAP web), plus an iBook G4, later replacing the iB with a PB G4. As a management and marketing consultant who travels extensively for clients around the globe, I direct multiple complex projects for them; each project encompassing files and functions for scheduling, graphics (text, fonts, art, photography), audio/video, DVD production, special events/entertainment, research, etc.
In all this time, I haven't had a desktop or even a desk or an office in the traditional sense, nor any desire or need for them. Better still, I haven't had a land line since 1999; my office is a coffeeshop, airport lounge, bank lobby, or a comfy spot at home. I only just acquired my first "peripheral" (a LaCie external) a month or two ago.
Why?
Why not? I prefer to invest my time, money and care in an abundant, diverse circle of colleagues. In addition to enjoying the dividends of virtual partnership, collaboration, encouragement, advice, laughter, and late night chats over espresso, they willingly loan, rent or share their equipment. I don't need to own a server, printer, fax machine, or any of the customary tools of trade. Scores of business, technology, and academic folk work in offices filled to surfeit with unused and under-used equipment. If a fee is required for its use, I'm happy to pay it. (But as one colleague told me, he felt less guilty about his organisation's gratuitous spending by knowing the equipment could be put to good use by strategic allies.)
The same "keeping up with the Jones" mentality that plagues affluential organisations sometimes infects us mere mortals, too. (Been there, have the shirt.) What if each techological advance and new device was sealed with a big label saying, "Just because you can doesn't mean you should"? Would our greed speed slow down?
Am I bewitched and beguiled by more/bigger/better/new/improved/faster? Absolutely! I fantasize how my performance can space jump. I consider seriously the effects and after-effects of adding new toys to my repertoire. Yet ultimately, against that allure poses this epiphany: ditching the desktop was the first and most important step toward breaking my chains.
Today, I am lucky and I know it. I can shape life/business to suit my deepest goals and desires for a simpler, enriched life. I travel lightly, I invest in people before paraphernalia. Not everyone has that liberty. Many who do are blind to it. And for a few, desks and desktop computers truly are their preferred modus operandi.
Thanks, again Tim2006, for starting this thread. Judging from the 50+ responses so far, it seems to have struck a chord with notebook/laptop people
Was always biased towards desktops... switched to Apple in '04 with a 12" PB. Then back to what was still my preference, a 20" iMac, then gave the PB to my sister for a 12" iBook.
But until I got this MB, I still favored the iMac. Since I've gotten the MB? I've actually almost stopped using the iMac altogether and I'm very tempted to sell it.
But until I got this MB, I still favored the iMac. Since I've gotten the MB? I've actually almost stopped using the iMac altogether and I'm very tempted to sell it.
Since I went mobile four years ago, I don't really consider desktops a viable choice, at least for my usage. Though, I'm just now getting around to upgrading that PowerBook I got all those many years ago. I suppose if I was more into hardcore gaming, or needed a high end CAD station...
But for all my personal use and development stuff there's no need to be chained down. And with a MacBook Pro on the way I may just find myself gaming a bit again.
But for all my personal use and development stuff there's no need to be chained down. And with a MacBook Pro on the way I may just find myself gaming a bit again.
No desktop here. I'm a software developer and have no problem using a MacBook Pro as my only system.
I do beleive I will go desktopless for collage (I have a mini as my main machine now) and get a MB, but will return to desktops soon after. I have an iBook for my laptop now, and thats all I need. In 10 years, the MB will be like the iBook. Enough to do what I want on the go, but not overkill.
I am waiting for Mac Pros to go Octo core across the board so I can grab one
No matter what desktops are, by definition, more powerful than portables, and you do need some heavy lifting from time to time.
No matter what desktops are, by definition, more powerful than portables, and you do need some heavy lifting from time to time.
Laptop and desktop is the way to go. Best of both worlds.
I should note that my desktop is a PC. Hate it or not, Windows is the lowest common denominator, as someone else so eloquently stated.
I should note that my desktop is a PC. Hate it or not, Windows is the lowest common denominator, as someone else so eloquently stated.
Laptop and desktop is the way to go. Best of both worlds.
I'd say laptop with large external LCD, external keyboard, and mouse is the best of both worlds. Cheaper too.
The problem with me is that I am absolutely power obsessed, thus my desktop, if I had one (prepare for fantasy), would have to be a blisteringly expensive MP, connected to my Xserve farm, along with its countless Tbytes of memory, all running my LCD touch screen wall, and thus I would finally have something smart enough to carry on a conversation with ... just pick me to win the lottery. Luckily I can satisfy my desires with a MBP (15" glossy, 4 Gb RAM, 250 GB Scorpio...(the 17" is taxed more...)). All this would be if I had a nice wad of cash. I don't. So I have to settle with this BlackBook until July (b-day) when I'll finally have enough to buy the MBP of my dreams . WOW, that was really long, selfish, and sounds totally awesome!!!!!!! But that MBP I get will eventually meet the specs I stated, just you wait. Uh, and that's why I never liked desktops, plus the iMac is basically a MBP on a stand, and the Mini a MB in a small box. Maybe you guys have fantasies too. In all truth, I've never been attracted to desktops, you must see, aside from the POWER!!!!!! obsession, I happen to be 15 (16 in July) and have divorced parents, so my 'puter must be portable. Sorry Xserve farm, maybe when I get my own house and work for Apple ?
... just pick me to win the lottery. Luckily I can satisfy my desires with a MBP (15" glossy, 4 Gb RAM, 250 GB Scorpio...(the 17" is taxed more...)). All this would be if I had a nice wad of cash. I don't. So I have to settle with this BlackBook until July (b-day) when I'll finally have enough to buy the MBP of my dreams . WOW, that was really long, selfish, and sounds totally awesome!!!!!!! But that MBP I get will eventually meet the specs I stated, just you wait. Uh, and that's why I never liked desktops, plus the iMac is basically a MBP on a stand, and the Mini a MB in a small box. Maybe you guys have fantasies too. In all truth, I've never been attracted to desktops, you must see, aside from the POWER!!!!!! obsession, I happen to be 15 (16 in July) and have divorced parents, so my 'puter must be portable. Sorry Xserve farm, maybe when I get my own house and work for Apple ?Only reason why I havent ditched desktops altogether yet, is because you cant upgrade laptops. As a gamer, when new games come out and my system begins to show its age, its time to upgrade, with laptops you just have to settle with poor performance until you decide to buy a whole new laptop.
yeah, I only use a macbook. It's easy to hook up to an external mouse/keyboard/speakers/display, so I see no real need for a desktop.
Good on you!
I hope you won't mind if I expand the topic a bit. WHY haven't more people unchained themselves from their desktop?
Since 2000/2001, I've successfully run 3 businesses, 2 of them simultaneously, using only two Sony Ericsson T-phones (first the T306, then the T606/616, both browser-enabled, each averaging 250-300 Mgs in activity on the WAP web), plus an iBook G4, later replacing the iB with a PB G4. As a management and marketing consultant who travels extensively for clients around the globe, I direct multiple complex projects for them; each project encompassing files and functions for scheduling, graphics (text, fonts, art, photography), audio/video, DVD production, special events/entertainment, research, etc.
In all this time, I haven't had a desktop or even a desk or an office in the traditional sense, nor any desire or need for them. Better still, I haven't had a land line since 1999; my office is a coffeeshop, airport lounge, bank lobby, or a comfy spot at home. I only just acquired my first "peripheral" (a LaCie external) a month or two ago.
Why?
Why not? I prefer to invest my time, money and care in an abundant, diverse circle of colleagues. In addition to enjoying the dividends of virtual partnership, collaboration, encouragement, advice, laughter, and late night chats over espresso, they willingly loan, rent or share their equipment. I don't need to own a server, printer, fax machine, or any of the customary tools of trade. Scores of business, technology, and academic folk work in offices filled to surfeit with unused and under-used equipment. If a fee is required for its use, I'm happy to pay it. (But as one colleague told me, he felt less guilty about his organisation's gratuitous spending by knowing the equipment could be put to good use by strategic allies.)
The same "keeping up with the Jones" mentality that plagues affluential organisations sometimes infects us mere mortals, too. (Been there, have the shirt.) What if each techological advance and new device was sealed with a big label saying, "Just because you can doesn't mean you should"? Would our greed speed slow down?
Am I bewitched and beguiled by more/bigger/better/new/improved/faster? Absolutely! I fantasize how my performance can space jump. I consider seriously the effects and after-effects of adding new toys to my repertoire. Yet ultimately, against that allure poses this epiphany: ditching the desktop was the first and most important step toward breaking my chains.
Today, I am lucky and I know it. I can shape life/business to suit my deepest goals and desires for a simpler, enriched life. I travel lightly, I invest in people before paraphernalia. Not everyone has that liberty. Many who do are blind to it. And for a few, desks and desktop computers truly are their preferred modus operandi.
Thanks, again Tim2006, for starting this thread. Judging from the 50+ responses so far, it seems to have struck a chord with notebook/laptop people
Until the MacBook Pro comes with 8 Cores and doesn't burn my lap and has just as much RAM as any other desktop in the world and over 4TB of space... I will live with my number crunching, cool running, four core, four HDD, 4 PCIx slot, 2 FW 800, dual optical drive, 16GB of RAM, Fibre channel toting, AJA capture card, four 30" display, REALLY REALLY FAST desktop that is much harder to steal since it is so freakin heavy DESKTOP!
I like my MacBook Pro for the light stuff though...
I agree with the best of both worlds guy... get the laptop for portability and the desktop for real power.