I used a Mac Mini as my main machine some time ago when I was a student. Carried it between home and uni each term, and sometimes to offices where I had a monit

I used a Mac Mini as my main machine some time ago when I was a student. Carried it between home and uni each term, and sometimes to offices where I had a monitor set up. My argument for getting one was similar: I spend 95% of the time with it plugged into big monitors and keyboards anyway, I can upgrade the disk/memory/etc, still portable enough, and much cheaper than an equivalent Macbook Pro. But when it was time to upgrade, I got a laptop again. Because even if 95% of the time you use it plugged into big monitors and keyboards, you really miss the 5%. You still need a laptop to go to client meetings, conference rooms, conferences, hotels, hackathons, airports, etc. And if you're getting both a portable desktop and a "basic laptop", might as well buy a good laptop for the same total price, and avoid the effort needed to keep all the data and configuration in sync on two computers. However, if you are sure that you can live without having a computer that is usable outside of places where you have previously dropped off a monitor, it might be the most economical option.