That's what I was sort of going after, although the workstation setup is important too. My desk is full of exposed boards, cat5 cables going in and out of them

That's what I was sort of going after, although the workstation setup is important too. My desk is full of exposed boards, cat5 cables going in and out of them, rs232 cables going in and out of them, power supplies, switches, multimeter, oscilloscope, breadboard, jumper wires, sd cards, screwdrivers, pliers, random components, and yes a couple laptops. With a big external screen & keyboard and mouse :) (Oh and yes, papers & pencils too!) I wouldn't want to read schematics too much on a laptop screen. In fact I'm thinking my 30" screen is kinda small for that.