5 ms·
If you are spending more than 3-4 hours per day on your laptop, you should really be using a desktop, for the sake of your long term health....
by scholia 11y ago
If you are spending more than 3-4 hours per day on your laptop, you should really be using a desktop, for the sake of your long term health....
- christoph 11y agoI think a lot of people use a laptop throughout the day like in our office - plugged into a large monitor, mouse, keyboard and put up on a desktop stand. You then have the flexibility to just get up and walk into a meeting with it or walk out at the end of the day with everything just as you left it and carry on working on the train should you need.
- lmm 11y agoThe Macbook isn't very usable in that space though, since they have no first-party docking station support.
- Mister_Snuggles 11y agoI use a MacBook Pro like this every work day. Plugging in four cables (power, 2x DisplayPort, USB) is not really that big of a deal.
- slantyyz 11y agoBut if details matter (they do for a lot of Mac users), nothing beats a drop in dock. There's also no wear to the plugs or ports with a drop-in dock. When I was a die-hard Mac user, that was perhaps the only thing that I wish Macs had, minus the crashiness that docks caused on Windows.
- scholia 11y agoYou could simply add a Thunderbolt or USB 3 dock.... Using an external keyboard and mouse solves the ergonomic problems of using a laptop for long periods. (Sad to say, I see very few people actually doing this.) Of course, you don't get the benefits of running a faster, hotter processor, expandability etc, though Apple no longer offers a reasonably priced tower system anyway....
- pflats 11y agoApple's official monitors double as docking stations, with USB/Firewire/Ethernet being carried over thunderbolt. The most recent ones also half a decade old and still quite expensive, so I can't imagine buying one, but Apple would tell you that they do have a first-party docking station, complete with monitor built-in!
- redblacktree 11y agoI do it. I have four plugs to connect and disconnect once a day. (i.e. no dock) I don't really mind.
- peatmoss 11y agoOh my yes! For the reasons mentioned in the article (laptop manufacturer suckage), I went back to a PC at home last year. It's been great. Great hardware compatibility, even with OpenBSD. I spent practically nothing for a whole lot of horsepower too. But moreover, a PC forces me to do my work in a place I have dedicated to work. People are now recognizing the importance of sanitary sleep habits. Well, my PC helps me maintain sanitary work habits. Well, it did when I was working from home a bunch. I started a new job a couple months back, which has me working from their offices on a shiny new Mac Book Pro. I hate it. I've grown to love the efficiency and instantaneousness of everything on my utterly predictable libre *nix desktop. Plus, even if I don't plan to do work outside working hours, there's a strong corporate culture of taking your laptop home--I don't know, to maintain optics of always being working or something. Either way, my employer could have saved a few dollars and made me much happier by locking a workstation to my desk.
- at-fates-hands 11y agoJust started a new job, since we're moving to a new building with an "open" concept and dual 24" monitors at each station, I didn't get a monitor since I'm in an older building. In less than two weeks I already have neck and back problems from hunching over my laptop all day. Thank god I only have two more days of this insanity.
- scholia 11y agoQuick short-term fix is to stand the laptop on a pile of books and plug in a cheap USB keyboard......