I have just recently being employed and with having to travel over an hour and a half one way to get to work, then having to work a full day am I better off buying a desktop PC or laptop for writing?
By having to travel a fair distance to work by train and bus, I can write on my way home, during my breaks and what not if I bought a laptop. As a result of my new work and travel schedule, I'll have less and less time at home to write.
I also want a desktop so I can play games, which is the truth. I want to buy a top of the line, or near, PC and be able to play games and write. But with less time at home, and life's other simple pleasures I'll have a lot less time to write.
I also don't like writing by hand, I'm now too messy to read my own writing.
I want both a new desktop computer and laptop, but I can only afford one, not both at the moment. The sooner I get one, the sooner I can resume my passion, writing
So, I'll restate my question: Which one would be better for me: a desktop PC of laptop?
Any feedback, experiences and ideas will greatly be appreciated
posted
Would it really be practical for you to take your laptop to work every day? Would you have somewhere to store it? Or would your grand intentions never actually happen just because it was inconvient?
If you get a desktop, will you honestly use it for writing or just for games?
A lot of writing is in the planning. Do you think you would benefit from doing planning on the train and leaving the writing for when you get home?
A lot of this is really a matter of the circumstances. Only you can really say for sure.
posted
I bought a laptop mainly because I wanted something to take with me to give my freelance graphic design clients a chance to actually see what I had done for them.
Downside: without electricity, you are running off the battery and depending on the laptop, that may mean you are only good for 1/2 hour or so.
Plus: You can take it with you anywhere.
Downside: A laptop, again depending on which one, may be difficult to actually hold on your LAP. The problem is the screen is top-heavy. Sitting on a bus and typing would only work (for MY laptop) if I was sitting in a bus seat and could use the back of the seat ahead of me to prop up the monitor. If it slips off your lap (think of the bumps and turns) it could be tragic. Plus, I don't know about you, but I don't write that well with some person sitting next to me telling me all about their medical issues or bad relationships.
Plus: You CAN take it with you. If you can train yourself to juggle it, you have access to your data virtually anywhere.
Downside: Laptops are valuable. They get stolen. You would want to make sure it was secure at work. You can't just leave it sitting in a case by your desk.
Plus: You can take it with you.
This sounds like a recommendation for a desktop model, but to be honest, now that I've had a laptop I wouldn't go back to a desktop. I love, LOVE the freedom to take my laptop with me when I go out of town on vacation, business trips, etc. The times I love it most are those early hours in a hotel room when it's too soon to be interacting with people. I get up early, make some coffee (which I brought myself) and sit and write. This makes it all worth while.
And, of course, if you ever have freelance graphic design clients, it's a major bonus there, too.
posted
I bought a laptop for the simple reason that I'm gone from my home for months at a time, and I gotta say that its perfect. Yeah it was a little more expensive than a desktop. I agree with the idea of the freedom of a laptop. I've taken my laptop just about everywhere I go now. I bought a new desktop but I still use my laptop more, thats my recommendation.
Posts: 11 | Registered: May 2006
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posted
Check Dell's website every day. They have been running HUGE sales lately. Like $1200 laptops for $600 (i.e. 50% off). So pay attention to the site and might be able to hook up with a good deal.
And yes, laptops are great for writing. It's my primary writing machine, since I do most of my writing during lunch and other work breaks.
posted
I would generally recommend the laptop. I find it much easier to work where and when I am comfortable, rather than sitting myself down at the desk. And the portability of the laptop is a huge asset, particularly if you are going to be sat on a train for mengths of time (regarding battery ife - if al you are doing is writing, no use of the CD drive etc, then battery life really should not be a problem on any modern machine).
Posts: 1469 | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
After looking around for months to find a laptop I liked, I finally decided on this model from sams club. It's an extremely powerful, capable machine up to the standards of anything else you'd find, but with a 12-inch screen and weighing only 4.2 pounds you can really take it with you anywhere. There's no point in getting a portable if it's so big and heavy that it's not actually portable.
Sorry if I sound like a laptop salesperson, I just really love this machine. It's not all that good to play games or watch movies on, but for writing, internet, and programming it's perfect. You can also get a good three hours out of the battery if you turn it on power-saving mode, which would get you to work and back easy.
In other words, I'd definitely go with the laptop, but be careful which laptop you buy. Think about what you're really going to want to use it for, and then get one that makes that possible.
posted
I'm about to move to the suburbs so I bought this set up for some serious commuting (~2hrs each day).
1. A PDA with Windows Mobile (not Palm) so it has Word Mobile on it. 2. A bluetooth keyboard that folds up to fit in an inside jacket pocket.
The whole thing cost about $500 and weighs in at around a pound. Very portable. Very functional. I love it.
Caveats: 1. PDAs were not exactly designed for this. (They were designed for email). This leads to some issues. The PDA I have has pretty limited working memory. If I write anything that would go much over 5 pages on a regular computer it refuses to save the file. This leads to a lot of re-typing. In those situations its good to save often, and when you think you're approaching the limit, save the file, reset the devices working memory (very easy, there's a button on the back) and start again. I'm getting better at this but I still have to re-type occasionally. Still it's another round of editing where I can check basic spelling a the sense of sentences.
2. Because of the memory issue you'll still need a desktop or laptop somewhere so you can assemble all those mini-files and retype the files you can't save.
Still, even with those caveats I'm very happy with my decision. Saved me a lot of cash. My old laptop (~7 years now) is now just for storage of files. Took some effort getting Windows XP (necessary for the latest build of Windows Mobile) onto it, but it worked.
posted
It comes down to money...I bought a 700 dollar laptop by acer last august to help me with my school oriented writing and its been a God send. Late night study sessions at Denny's become bearable as long as I find the place to plug my laptop in at.
heres where the money comes in, I paid 700 dollars for convience but not for performance. I can't play anything newer than CIV3 on my computer, My battery lasts for 30 mins and I swear the internal wireless card is horrible.
Ultimately you can get everything you want it just comes at a premium when its in a laptop format. Not to mention it virtually impossible to upgrade your laptop. Once you've got its not going to get any better.
posted
A warning about Dell laptops... I'm aware of at least 3 low-cost Dell laptops that died horrible deaths before the first year was up. My understanding from my geek friend who works in computer retail is that Dell doesn't build quality until you get into the upper tier (ie, upper cost) models.
quote:A warning about Dell laptops... I'm aware of at least 3 low-cost Dell laptops that died horrible deaths before the first year was up. My understanding from my geek friend who works in computer retail is that Dell doesn't build quality until you get into the upper tier (ie, upper cost) models.
All manufactures are like that. You really do get what you pay for when computers are involved. That's why the $1200 laptop for $600 was such an awesome deal. You really DO get a high teir laptop for a low tier price. To really get a sturdy laptop you need to get at least a "$1000 tier" or better laptop.
Look at Dell's E-series of Inspiron laptop, or D-series Latitude laptop (business laptops are typically more sturdy, thus slightly more in cost).
But no matter what you decide on, this is my recommended system requirements for a good laptop (i.e. less than $1500):
-Mid-level Intel Core Solo (T2000-series) or AMD Turion 64 () processor.
-Minimum 512 MB RAM ... 1 GB HIGHLY recommended. Operating systems are getting very bloated these days (even Mac OS X, for those feeling tempted to rip on Windows)
-40 GB HDD ... unless you don't plan on putting any music or video on. 60-80 recommended if the price difference isn't too much.
-15.4" widescreen (W[S]XGA or W[S]XGA+, any more and the text is too small without serious tweaking) or 15.1" standard (4:3 ratio, 1024x768 (XGA) resolution) screen.
If you need more performance from your laptop for graphic/video editing, or some type of heavy duty laptop.
posted
If it's just for writing why not get a used laptop? Sure, you won't be able to play games, but for that you'd want a trackball and full keyboard, along with a monitor that is mounted on a desk rather than your lap.
If expense is a concern, you can't do better than second-hand. An older laptop will have a legacy operating system, so it won't need the same kind of processing power and disk space etc. etc. that you'd need in a new model.
There are even a couple of writing "accessories" floating about in the space between PDAs and laptops. Keyboards with screens, so to speak. I haven't seen many of those around lately, probably isn't a market for anything that isn't "sexy".
posted
A lot of views and opinions, but the general feeling I get is I should go for a laptop.
To answer a few questions, at work I do have a place to keep my laptop if the locker I'll be getting is large enough. If not, then I'll just forget about the laptop, but they should be large enough to fit one in.
So, I'll get a laptop then Seems like it'll be a much greater help to me than anything else.
posted
I love my laptop. I can take it anywhere I want. It isn't top of the line, but I don't need top of the line.
Posts: 2830 | Registered: Dec 2004
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posted
If you get the laptop, don't forget the wireless router. I have a desk top and a laptop, and I find myself on the laptop more often. With wireless, you can go online from any room in the house or from your porch. And, if your lucky, you might enjoy free wireless access at your local cafe. Look for a laptop that isn't too heavy lug back and forth to work each day. You might also want to invest in an extra battery so that power is less of a concern on those long commutes.
Posts: 73 | Registered: Mar 2006
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posted
Old equipment to store highly sensitive writing material...I guess if you kept regular backups it would be okay. Though laptop tech has evolved so much lately I wouldn't buy anything more than 2 years old. And even then I would be careful. There are a lot of online scams involving laptops, and old laptop equipment will break faster then new. But if you can afford it, get new ... and still backup regularly. I back up weekly if not more frequently.
Also, get an extended warranty plan. Laptops are more prone to failure than dekstops (same amount of heat in a smaller space, causes havok with the electronics). Repairing a laptop out-of-warranty once is worth the cost of extended the warranty to 3 years.
And remember to make regular backups.
Jammrock
[This message has been edited by Jammrock (edited May 14, 2006).]
posted
A word to the wise about wireless... I work for a cable company that provides high speed internet broadband. Wireless service requires a router, and it could increase your cable bill for the service. On the other hand, I've had customers who have canceled orders to GET cable because they discovered they were living in a building with a little wi-fi cafe on the first floor, and they are able to pick up connection from there. As with all things, wireless has its good points and its detriments.
Posts: 2026 | Registered: Mar 2005
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posted
I'm going to reiterate and amplify. If you just want to write on this thing, it doesn't need much more than a way to see what you're writing and a means of transfering your work to a "real" computer.
A wireless card works, so does a simple ethernet cable. Or a thumbdrive. Probably not old floppy disks, though. But if you only want to use it for writing, it just needs to allow you to write documents and transfer them to another computer somehow.
If you want a sexy little computer that will play the latest games, DVDs, live video streams off the internet, or what have you, then buy one. But don't pretend you're getting it for the sake of writing. Sure, you can do that too, but you aren't paying that extra couple thousand dollars for the purpose of improving your chances of actually writing.
posted
I'll echo the "wireless is priceless" sentiment.
I also learned a little trick to lengthen your battery time -- turn down the brightness on your screen. The difference is minimal, but the power you save is tremendous.
And always, ALWAYS unplug it before a storm.
I have both an iBook laptop and a PC...and while I love and use both extensively, I really appreciate having that laptop.
quote:I'm going to reiterate and amplify. If you just want to write on this thing, it doesn't need much more than a way to see what you're writing and a means of transfering your work to a "real" computer. A wireless card works, so does a simple ethernet cable. Or a thumbdrive. Probably not old floppy disks, though. But if you only want to use it for writing, it just needs to allow you to write documents and transfer them to another computer somehow.
It will be for writing, as my dad has just upgraded his desktop. So if I want to play games, then I'll play games on his desktop.
A cheap laptop is all I really need.
quote:I also learned a little trick to lengthen your battery time -- turn down the brightness on your screen. The difference is minimal, but the power you save is tremendous.
Does that go for any laptop or a select few with power problems?
posted
Hmm. I have a laptop and a desktop and I rarely use the laptop. But then I don't travel much. I guess it really depends on what works best for you.
Posts: 28 | Registered: May 2006
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I've contemplated getting one myself, as soon as I can save up. It's designed for writers and students. Lightweight, compact, does what you need it to do, batteries last 24 hours or more. It's kind of like having a palm pilot and keyboard, but I'm really picky about my keyboards and I don't like the collapsible kind. Plus the screen layout on the Dana works better for me. It's not the best for games, but then, if you had games wouldn't you be playing them instead of writing? I know I would. Though I do already have a desktop, so I can still get my game fix there.
posted
I recommend a notebook and pen/pencil. They're cheap, very light-weight, and don't have any formatting issues. They never crash, and never slow down.
posted
I concur with the notebook and pen / pencil bit. But notebook paper does tear, pencil points do break, and pens do run dry. It's the non-computer equivalent of crashing.
I'm tempted by laptops, but don't really want to lug one around everywhere I go. I just returned from a vacation, where I found it awkward to carry a cell phone around in my pocket. A laptop would just be more awkward. (Not that I did any writing on the trip, outside of inside my own skull.)
posted
So they call those "companions" rather than "appliances" now? But nearly five hundred dollars...that's quite a lot.
Posts: 8322 | Registered: Aug 1999
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