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> Subject: What laptops are for... was=>RE: CPU Upgrades - some real world numbers > Date: Sat, 31 May 1997 12:48:32 -0500 > From: chessie@megsinet.net (Dennis Pantazis) > > I am a bit late on this thread.... > > The most important issue to consider and keep in mind is what fundamentally > a laptop is all about. Laptops are about MOBILE PRODUCTIVITY. IMNSHO... > the TP701 & TP560, and as well the Compaq Armada and the Digital HighNote > VP are significant achievements for they maintain the optimum form factor. > The 701 was the first REAL player, but unfortunately IBM seems to have > taken a lateral instead of going the distance with the 560. Compaq and > Digital are playing catch up, and made pretty good units as well. > > All are essentially light in weight, hovering about 4 lb., have enough > resources to do most work and are reasonable on batteries. Its really too > bad that ZD is almost as big as Microsloth in editorial power. Their > claims of a laptop having as much power as desktops, or at least that they > are approaching that threshold is really unfortunate. The techno-newbies > eat that crap up and with money burning a hole in their pockets drive the > price of laptops up and their availability down. Laptops will NEVER > approach the power or functionality of a desktop. If you are on a limited > budget, and fully realize the limitations of a laptop, fine, great, you are > on the ball. You get a cookie. > Laptops have approached the power or functionality of a desktop. My current 760ED is much more powerful than my home PC, a Dell 486D/50, and my work PC a Dell 5133 (Pentium 133). Ofcourse, given the same amount of money, I can get a more powerful CURRENT model Desktop than a Laptop; and if I need the fastest Intel based PC available, it will not be in a Laptop model. But then, a Laptop has features that the Desktop does not. > If you find yourself running multiple apps and using a laptop like a > desktop you are better off with a desktop. The premium for a laptop is > almost twice the cost of a desktop or more, save your bread, buy a nice > monitor and enjoy the comforts of a real chair. If you REALLY need to > carry the CDROM AND FLOPPY and an EXTRA battery to keep these devils fed > then somewhere you are doing something wrong. The days of the suitcase > computers unfortunately dwindling. What a novel concept these days to > stuff a desktop into a mobile case and have a real computer to carry and > park for your presentation or investigation session. They might make a > come back with the realized reality of bigger LCD screens. > I personally enjoy working on my 760ED, more than a desktop. Gives me a lot more room on my desk. But, most of all, I like the mobility, especially at home. I could work in my home office if I need the isolation, or in the family room if I want to be around the family. And, yes, I do work on trains and airplanes. > I can't begin to tell you all how many people I see on the train playing > freaking Solitare for their ride. Or better yet, using their CDROMS to > play audio CD's. Man if you are toting around a $4k deck of cards or a > really bad CD player, you probably have the quarter to buy a clue. > > As an engineer, for the most part, the most strenuous duty I would ever > really expect my laptop to do is run video capture, data logging and > PowerPoint type presentations. The rest is Word and Excel to get a jump on > my day and make use of the hours that I spend commuting. Yes, I can run > things like Autocad on the go, there were few occasions where it was > 'handy' on my 701 but what a pain in the ass. I use little DOS > engineering analysis applettes, but for the most part my 'tools' are > spreadsheets and Mathematica workbooks on the go. > I generally use development tools (VB), databases (Access), accounting software (QuickBooks), office productivity (Word, Excel), communications (Internet stuff - IBM Dialer, Netscape, FreeAgent, Microsoft Explorer), and remote access (LapLink, CloseUp). Works very well on the 760ED. > The laptop side of the computer industry is for the most part playing catch > up with the desktop market and battery technology. It always has, it > always will. You can not reasonably expect a laptop to really compete > against a desktop plugged into the wall. Period! We might see a PPro in a > laptop, or a Klamath, but you might as well save up for the Go-Go-Gadget > Pocket Fusion Reactor to keep those buggers fed as well. > Battery life has never been a big deal for me. Most of the time, I plug the LapTop into the wall, since most locations that I work in do have electricity. And when traveling, the hour or two battery life is sufficient. If necessary I can always bring a second battery. > My two bits > > Dennis > Just my humble opinion ... Steven