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It is nice having all of your stuff on one computer. At my desk I use a dock to connect 3 high resolution monitors to my laptop via a single USB-C port, which

by jmkni 10y ago

It is nice having all of your stuff on one computer. At my desk I use a dock to connect 3 high resolution monitors to my laptop via a single USB-C port, which works really well as a replacement for a desktop PC, then I can disconnect it, go to a coffee shop or a conference and continue working without even having to close my IDE. Now we are at the point where your laptop can confortably drive a couple of monitors when you want it to, but can also be portable and light with good battery life when you want it to, you don't need a desktop PC. Also, if you work in multiple places, you can have a couple of screens and a keyboard/mouse on your desk in each place, rock up with your laptop, and plug in.

notheguyouthink 10y ago
Yea, in reverse i don't get the confusion/argument for desktops. In this day and age, i feel like the defense should be on the side of desktops. For a good portion of work a laptop can do everything a "desktop" can, including big monitors and additional keyboard/mouse. And it has the added benefit of taking it anywhere. It's a desktop when you want it, and a laptop when you want it. Sure, there are plenty of resource intensive applications that would be better suited for a desktop, but i highly value the mobility. And i work in a very strict 9-5, (nearly) no work is taken home past clock-out. Barring freak outages of course (i have yet to see one in my time here, \o/) edit: Fighting my comma demon.
- lmm 10y ago
  > Sure, there are plenty of resource intensive applications that would be better suited for a desktop, but i highly value the mobility. Can you explain this part? What's the mobility getting you that's worth maybe halving your RAM (for example) for?
  - notheguyouthink 10y ago
    Well for me, development in cli. I do nothing that requires 16+Gig of ram. 8 is plenty for me (what i have in my macbook pro, iirc). Sure, ram is always nice, but i am able to do my work and take my laptop (which i also code for fun on) wherever i am. Hotels/couch/offices/etc. I'm not stuck to a single spot, in a single room, in a single building. It's a really, really important feature to me. Even just at my house i move around the house frequently.
    - lmm 10y ago
      > do my work and take my laptop (which i also code for fun on) Sure, that makes sense - from the way you said you only worked 9-5 I took that to mean you were talking about a work computer.
      - notheguyouthink 10y ago
        Well even then - if i take my work-only laptop home it means i can reliably respond to issues on production. It's still a 9-5 job imo, because i have yet to have to respond to an issue, but an outage is an outage, and if i can't reliably work from home then i have to drive to the office. That adds considerable time to how quickly i can contribute. I know that technically breaks the rule of "strictly 9-5", but i think nearly all jobs have people on explicit or implicit pager duty. Even if you don't have to do anything 12 months out of the year, it might happen, you might need to respond. /shrug
        lmm 10y ago
        If you're on call you're on call and should expect to be paid for it. It's not remotely a technicality, and by no means something "nearly all" jobs do. I strongly advise having a conversation with your union rep.
        notheguyouthink 10y ago
        Haha, i don't have a union rep. Now am i specifically "on call". I want to be available. It's my choice. Sure, you could argue that i'm being taken advantage of or etc, and i'd understand your viewpoint, but i just know i'd rather fix the problem when it happens (if i can) than leave the product down for 12+ hours until i'm in office tomorrow or monday after a weekend, etc. Keep in mind this has never happened for me. Nor do any of my home plans change because i like to be available. And even at my last employer (for example), i liked to be available despite us having a planned & paid for pager duty rotation. Why would my employer pay me extra for not doing anything at nights 365 days/y? I like to be potentially available, it's my choice :)

by jmkni 10y ago

notheguyouthink 10y ago

Yea, in reverse i don't get the confusion/argument for desktops. In this day and age, i feel like the defense should be on the side of desktops. For a good portion of work a laptop can do everything a "desktop" can, including big monitors and additional keyboard/mouse. And it has the added benefit of taking it anywhere. It's a desktop when you want it, and a laptop when you want it. Sure, there are plenty of resource intensive applications that would be better suited for a desktop, but i highly value the mobility. And i work in a very strict 9-5, (nearly) no work is taken home past clock-out. Barring freak outages of course (i have yet to see one in my time here, \o/) edit: Fighting my comma demon.

lmm 10y ago
> Sure, there are plenty of resource intensive applications that would be better suited for a desktop, but i highly value the mobility. Can you explain this part? What's the mobility getting you that's worth maybe halving your RAM (for example) for?
- notheguyouthink 10y ago
  Well for me, development in cli. I do nothing that requires 16+Gig of ram. 8 is plenty for me (what i have in my macbook pro, iirc). Sure, ram is always nice, but i am able to do my work and take my laptop (which i also code for fun on) wherever i am. Hotels/couch/offices/etc. I'm not stuck to a single spot, in a single room, in a single building. It's a really, really important feature to me. Even just at my house i move around the house frequently.
  - lmm 10y ago
    > do my work and take my laptop (which i also code for fun on) Sure, that makes sense - from the way you said you only worked 9-5 I took that to mean you were talking about a work computer.
    - notheguyouthink 10y ago
      Well even then - if i take my work-only laptop home it means i can reliably respond to issues on production. It's still a 9-5 job imo, because i have yet to have to respond to an issue, but an outage is an outage, and if i can't reliably work from home then i have to drive to the office. That adds considerable time to how quickly i can contribute. I know that technically breaks the rule of "strictly 9-5", but i think nearly all jobs have people on explicit or implicit pager duty. Even if you don't have to do anything 12 months out of the year, it might happen, you might need to respond. /shrug
      - lmm 10y ago
        If you're on call you're on call and should expect to be paid for it. It's not remotely a technicality, and by no means something "nearly all" jobs do. I strongly advise having a conversation with your union rep.
        notheguyouthink 10y ago
        Haha, i don't have a union rep. Now am i specifically "on call". I want to be available. It's my choice. Sure, you could argue that i'm being taken advantage of or etc, and i'd understand your viewpoint, but i just know i'd rather fix the problem when it happens (if i can) than leave the product down for 12+ hours until i'm in office tomorrow or monday after a weekend, etc. Keep in mind this has never happened for me. Nor do any of my home plans change because i like to be available. And even at my last employer (for example), i liked to be available despite us having a planned & paid for pager duty rotation. Why would my employer pay me extra for not doing anything at nights 365 days/y? I like to be potentially available, it's my choice :)