The Laptop ("Notebook") vs. Desktop Dialectic Continues
by Charles W. Moore
BusinessWeek’s Arik Hesseldahl last week reported that “As people switch from desktops in droves, they’re using notebooks to do it all: DVDs, games, and a full range of computing tasks. In the computer business, notebooks are where the money is. What used to be a secondary sibling to the desktop is now increasingly the only computer anyone wants or needs."
I guess I was way ahead of the curve for once, making the switch from desktop Macs to laptops as my main production workhorses back in 1996, since which I’ve been advocating them as “the logical Mac” for most users to anyone willing to listen.
With the advent of the MacBook Pro era, complaints about lazy Apple laptop...uh...notebook performance should be put to rest for the foreseeable future. The MacBook Pro even runs Windows on par with the fastest PC laptops. However, the cheapest MacBook offers performance outstripping the needs of all but extreme power users, as well as serious gamers. Most anyone else should find any MacIntel ‘Book more than adequate, and the biggest productivity/convenience/versatility boost in computing will be derived by switching from a desktop to a laptop computer.
Consequently, I’ve long contended that for most computer users, a laptop constitutes the best choice in a workhorse machine if you’re only having one. Indeed, I have come to regard the desktop personal computer as an inferior species, albeit one with more brute power and expandability than is available with a portable.
But the notebook has way more finesse, and I’m doubtful that more than 10% or so of computer users really need more performance than is offered by a 1.83 GHz MacBook. Indeed I still find my old 700 MHz G3 iBook perfectly adequate for most tasks. I’m not a power user, but I’m an “intensive” user, and usually have around 20 applications open. A minority of users will want all the horsepower and expandability they can get, but for the rest of us, a portable will have plenty of speed and performance, especially the new Intel-based ‘Books.
The price gap between laptops and desktops has become less of an issue in recent years. For example, a 1.83 GHz MacBook will set you back $1,099, while a 1.83 GHz Intel iMac has a suggested retail price of $1,299, so it can be argued that the notebook actually now has a price advantage with clock speed parity. The iMac does come with a 17” TFT display, but you’re giving up battery powered versatility and portability. Once you become a portable computing addict, you’ll have no trouble determining which qualities are more desirable.
I found that out the hard way back in 2001 when I reasoned that since I seldom use my computer as a true laptop anyway, and the G4 Cube “seemed” to be reasonably small, light, thus “semi-portable,” that the Cube’s extra power and slightly better expandability for less money than a 400 MHz PowerBook’s even when you factored in the cost of a 15 in. TFT display, would make rational sense.
Unfortunately, that theory did not translate well into practice. The Cube was slightly more portable than, say, my UMAX S-900 tower machine, but in some respects less convenient to move around, since besides its external monitor, it had external satellite speakers and amplifier, and a big, heavy, external power supply. It also took up a lot more space than I had envisioned. Don’t get me wrong; the Cube was uber-cool, and with its 450 MHz G4 processor and 578 MB of RAM loaded up, it was very fast compared with my 233 MHz, 92 MB WallStreet, but it was no laptop substitute - not even close.
The Intel iMac would theoretically be a better candidate for my purposes, since it has an integrated monitor and is more compact than the Cube was with its external paraphernalia and a TFT Monitor. However, it’s not nearly as pretty, and the iMac’s Achilles’ heel as far as I’m concerned is that still requires wall current to run. Where I live, power outages are inevitable several times a year, not to mention electrical storms when it is prudent to unplug, and my notebooks allow me to keep on working and prevent loss of data from unexpected blackouts.
And the biggest advantage of the portable is that it is portable - a completely self-contained computing unit when it needs to be - a single module that can be packed around easily and conveniently whether to the next room or to another continent. When you’re a notebook owner you need never be separated from your virtual cyberworld.
The coolness of this really has to be experienced first-hand to be adequately appreciated. When I bought my first PowerBook back in 1996, I anticipated using it as a portable backup machine to my “main” desktop computer. It took me, oh, about half a day, to realize that I had stepped into a new dimension of the computing experience, and that this tiny little thing (a PowerBook 5300) was now going to be the nexus of my computer universe. I’ve never looked back (except for the brief Cube dalliance). Neither have most other people I know who got laptops. They’re hooked.
Some argue that the ideal is to have both a desktop and a laptop. That indeed could be the sensible setup for many people. For me, having two computers is essential (I can’t risk being shut down due to hardware failure, since my computer is my workplace, and the second computer is maintained as a mirror backup of the front line production machine). However, that second computer can just as well be, and these days is, another laptop.
Actually, I currently have eight computers in working condition, and three of them are desktops (old to very old), and I haven’t actually used any of the latter for work-related tasks for several years. A 1.33 GHz 17” PowerBook, the 700 MHz G3 iBook, and a Pismo PowerBook (now upgraded to G4 power) that I traded the Cube for nearly five years ago, are my production fleet these days,. The WallStreet is still in service as my wife’s computer.
If you like desktop computers, and/or can’t get along without lots processor muscle, PCI and RAM expansion slots, multiple drive bays, and the like, more power to you, so to speak. Apple makes some really nice desktop computers. But how many desktop owners ever actually put anything in all those slots and bays? If you do, you know who you are. No argument.
My central point here is, if you think you would like to switch to a MacBook Pro or MacBook, or even a refurbished or used PowerBook or iBook, but are hesitant because you wonder if it will be “enough computer” for your needs, come on over. It almost always will be, and then some, unless you’re one of the people I referred to two paragraphs ago, in which case you probably wouldn’t be seriously considering a ‘Book in the first place.
People often ask me for advice on what sort of a laptop to get. In the abstract that’s difficult to answer, because it depends on your needs and tastes and pocketbook. The MacBook is pretty hard to argue with in terms of price and value, and the MacBook Pro is no slouch in the value department either.
However, don’t write off considering a refurb. PowerBook or iBook. I’m extremely happy with this Apple Certified Refurbished 17” PowerBook I bought five months ago.
Prices on used/refurbished ‘Books, or even new ones, are amazingly affordable these days. But be forewarned, once you begin using a laptop, you could be ruined for desktops forever.
Find the lowest price on a new or refurbished Mac at PCPrices/Mac.