Can you live just with a laptop computer?

Quoting iainboyd <iainmaplescombe.com>:

> I'm sure everyone has debated their ideal set-up. I've had a G5 Has
> anyone been down this path? What decision did you make and why and
> were you pleased with your choice?
>
> And technically, any problems with things like: battery life? bus or
> processor performance? overheating?


My wife and I shared a G4 and an older G3 for a couple years . . . and
she was famous for editing the same document on both computers and
ending up with some of her changes in each of 2 copies of a document.

The solution (way back when) was to set up one of them as a fileserver
with Appleshare . . . when MacOS X came out this easily converted to
using the shareware SharePoints prefpane to create and manage the
share that we both use for 'data'. This also makes backup easier.

However, she only rarely read her email since the computers were all
in the spare bedroom/office.

Solution . . .we got 2 laptops (MBP for me and an MB for her now, we
started with a Ti PB and a white iBook). The advantage of these is
that we can sit in the recliner by the fireplace and use them.
However, we retained the fileserver for data/backup.

Laptop only will work fine; but you'll run into the problem of backup.
If all your documents only live on the portable then what happens if
it dies. There are multiple fairly cheap solutions . . . an external
drive is one but what you want is one that is automatic and just
works. For now, what we're doing is keeping all documents on the
server and just prefs or stuff we're actively working on on the
portables. The /Users directory on both laptops is backed up every
other day at 7PM to a .dmg file on the server using SuperDuper and
iMonTime to schedule it (so the backup works at wake if the thing is
asleep at 7PM) although iCal will also do this part for free.

When Leopard comes out . . . I'm thinking about setting up mobile home
directories which essentially uses a local /Users folder for all your
stuff but it is automatically synced with a network copy. This needs
Leopard Server on the server end though so the $500 bucks may be an
issue. There's also Time Machine in Leopard which will likely change
the backup scheme.

All the real work/use is laptop only . . . the only thing we do with
the G4 server (besides being the server) is I have it set up hosting
my scanners and backup drives.

We keep our MBP and MB plugged in all the time unless we carry them on
travel. I've got an iCal alarm for the first of every month to remind
us to unplug the cord and let the batter run down monthly to preserve
battery life. Heat is an issue with the laptops . . .but easily solved
with one of the many laptop stands. We've got CoolPads but there is a
new one available now (iLap) that is metal and seems to be a better
choice.

The docking station and extra monitor are an idea but only if you want
to sit at a desk. Neither my wife or I do that . . . on your lap in
the recliner is way more comfortable although I do have an optical
mouse that I run around on the recliner arm since I don't care for
trackpads much.

I'm using my MacBook Pro as my primary system. I don't bother with an
external monitor, since the screen is good enough. I do use a MIghty
Mouse, though.

On 9/12/07, iainboyd <iainmaplescombe.com> wrote:
> I'm sure everyone has debated their ideal set-up. I've had a G5
> desktop for about 3 years, but recently have also been using a Macbook
> Pro. I can't really justify having two Macs for several reasons: tying
> up capital, the extra administration and effective syncing being the
> top three.

Brief evolution here: I just Switched just over a year ago, but prior to
that I had a desktop PC in the house that I rarely sat down at and used
as a file server (bought in mid-2000). I bought my first laptop in 2000,
my second in 2001, and since my wife's computer died in 2001, she's been
using a laptop. In 2003 I switched to a 10" screen tablet PC and gave my
wife my 2001 laptop (the 2000 laptop had died). She replaced the 2001
laptop in 2005, and in 2006 my 2003 tablet PC died; I replaced it
temporarily with a used ThinkPad, and then in August last year bought my
15" MBP.

I bought the AirPort Extreme N earlier this year, and have attached
three disks totalling about 800 Gb to it, plus my older laser printer
with a parallel-to-USB adapter. When I did that, and had transferred my
files over to the attached disks, I decommissioned the desktop PC. (It
may be going to my wife's classroom as a Linux PC.)

For the last seven years, I have used a laptop -- regardless of platform
-- as my primary computer.

I'm actually looking at getting a mini to run headless so that I can run
things like SimplifyMedia and/or Hamachi and access my iTunes and disks
remotely. (I'm also considering a Linux-based "gumstick" form-factor,
because I don't need a full-on server; I mostly need something I can use
as a target to tunnel into over the Internet and access my remote
disks.)

The biggest drawback to the laptop is limited disk size; when the 250Gb
(~232 Gib) Seagate laptop drive is available, I may do an upgrade on my
MBP's hard drive so that I can actually carry my iTunes library with me
(I don't like having less than 10Gib free, and I don't have room for my
44Gib iTunes library anyway.)

I mostly made the changes that I did because I didn't want to have my
older PC running all the time with its insane power draw even when it's
doing nothing (the disks are much lower power use, even though they seem
to spin down a lot less often with the Extreme N than connected to a
real computer). (That's why I'm thinking a gumstick-style PC as my
tunnel-target.)

As far as docks are concerned, I don't use one. I've got a "NotePAL"
that the Mac sits on, but it's not a dock -- it's an aluminum rest with
fans to increase the cooling, powered by USB.

-austin

On Sep 12, 2007, at 6:14 AM, iainboyd wrote:

>
> Has anyone been down this path? What decision did you make and why
> and were you pleased with your choice?
>
> And technically, any problems with things like: battery life? bus
> or processor performance? overheating?


My early PBG4/400 titanium did this full-time for 5 years with no
problems and still works as a spare machine for visitors, and my
current PBG4/1.5 Al is well into year 2, although it did require a
motherboard replacement due to a defective ram slot (done under
warranty, no other problems).

I seem to get about 3 years out of a battery, even with the laptop
plugged in most of the time, and since OSX, I almost never shut down
- just close the lid and walk away. The G4 is noticeably slower than
a G5 tower, but I don't need the speed, and I love the convenience of
going out to clients knowing that I have all the files with me on the
laptop, and didn't forget to transfer something off the desktop.

I keep the laptop on a Coolpad on my desk, with a keyboard and 2 mice
or a mouse and a drawing tablet always connected through the
keyboard, and plug in externals (HD's, DVD burner, printer, scanner,
20" monitor) as needed.

HTH,

Roger Henriques
rdh at rhen dot com

On Sep 12, 2007, at 6:14 AM, iainboyd wrote:

> Clearly it's possible to connect an external monitor and keyboard
> to a laptop, plus the firewire cables, and even have a powered 7
> port USB hub. I would only take it out of the house once or twice a
> month so it could stay connected up most of the time.

I am facing the same question with a new MacBook Pro and a 7 year old
G4 Sawtooth desktop. The latter has a 1.5 GHz accelerator, several
attached disk drives internal and external, two LCD monitors, and a
number of USB and FW devices attached via hubs.

Both machines have their attractions and limitations, and so far, I
have kept both for these reasons:

1. I don't want the hassle of having to unplug and plug a lot of
peripherals every time I want to use my laptop somewhere else in
house or take it with me, nor the risk of wearing out connectors on
the laptop (but hubs are replaceable).

2. I don't like the idea of having my financial and other private
data stored on a hard drive on my laptop.

3. Operating the laptop in another location without the protection
provided by a hardware security router with NAT and SPI increases the
exposure.

The biggest hassle so far has been managing duplicate emails on both
machines, but so far, it has been a price I have been willing to pay.
Typically, I read my email and save whatever I want on my desktop.
Then I move to my laptop and update it while what I did on my desktop
still fresh in mind.

With my older laptop, I didn't try to keep my mail folders current on
it, but when I needed to, I'd just copy the Mail and Mail Downloads
folders from my desktop to the laptop before leaving the house. Now
that I am using the laptop in mobile mode more frequently, that
became too much of a hassle.

Dick Rucker

I have had some overheating problems when pushing my MacBook Pro to
the limits and found SMCFanControl helped solve this

http://homepage.mac.com/holtmann/eidac/software/smcfancontrol2/
index.html

It allows you to set the minimum speed of both fans to any speed up
to 6000 rpm and informs you how hot you're running at the same time.

I was trying to use the machine for work during the day then connect
it to my projector on some evenings and weekends, using it as a Home
Theatre Mac. To complicate matters I was doing this via BootCamp as
my DVD software player of choice runs under Win XP. Now when I do
this, I first boot up under Mac as normal and set the fans to their
6000 RPM max. WinXP under BootCamp will continue to use the fan
settings you applied under the MacOS

Now it seems to be working fine as an HT Mac, driving the projector
as a second monitor.

For second monitor use, I also consider SwitchResX essential.

http://www.madrau.com/html/SRX/About.html

BTW, setting the fans to max also helps you keep cool during the
summer, since some of the air seems to leak out through the keyboard,
etc. :-)

Hope it helps.

Geoff Armstrong


On 12 Sep 2007, at 12:14, iainboyd wrote:

iainboyd wrote:

> Has anyone been down this path? What decision did you make
> and why and were you pleased with your choice?
>
> And technically, any problems with things like: battery life?
> bus or processor performance? overheating?

I've used laptops exclusively for my job for about 7 years now. These
aren't Macs, but the general principle still holds.
I haven't had problems running a laptop 8 hours/day (and occasionally
24/7), but it depends on your workload. Heavy processing (CPU at 100%)
heats up my laptop (Dell D600, 4 years old now)pretty quickly to the
point where the fans get annoyingly noisy. Most of my work isn't
processor-intensive though, my CPU is at less than 10% load most of the
time.
Battery life drops to 'unusable' after 2-3 years.
I've never used a dock. When in the office, the laptop sits on a stand,
mainly to bring the screen up to the correct level. It also helps
cooling a bit.


Harro de Jong

On Sep 12, 2007, at 6:14 AM, iainboyd wrote:

> Has anyone been down this path?

Yes. Lots and lots and lots of people. And lots and lots. And some
more than that, too.

 From what I can tell, most college students these days have already
made this transition -- they already need a laptop to bring to class,
and having a second desktop back at the dorm doesn't make much sense.
I can't see most of these people switching to the "old way" of
primarily desktop usage once they leave school -- the laptops are
just so convenient, and more than powerful enough for most people's
needs with things like the Office and iLife apps.

There's very little that the desktops can do that the portables
can't. Bigger screens, sure, but the portables all have video out
ports. There are more internal expansion options on the Powermac /
Mac Pro, but most people don't bother with that to begin with.

For my family, my wife & I have laptops (PBG4/15" for her, Macbook
for me) and we have a PMG5 tower that gets shared for iPhoto, EyeTV
recording, and as a web/mail/file/print server. Most of what I'm
doing with the PMG5 would work just as well on one or two Mac Minis
(which IMO are vastly underrated computers), and if that had been
available the last time I was looking for a desktop, I would have
seriously considered it. For day to day use, the vast majority of the
time we're on the laptops, and they work great.

I get the impression that this kind of usage is becoming typical for
a lot of people.

> And technically, any problems with things like: battery life? bus
> or processor performance? overheating?

No. No, no. No.

Just calibrate the battery every now and then and try not to charge
it all the time

Take a look at http://www.apple.com/batteries/ for more detail & advice.

> Any advantage to using accessories such as Bookendz dock?

I personally don't care for the docks (or the spelling, but nevermind
that :-), but then I still have a desktop for my external drives,
printer, etc. If you're primarily going to be using the MBP tethered
to a bunch of devices at your desk, I guess it makes some sense.


--
Chris Devers

At 03:14 -0700 12/9/07, iainboyd wrote:
>Has anyone been down this path? What decision did you make and why
>and were you pleased with your choice?

For some time now I've been doing all my development work on a laptop
with external monitor. I actually use a MacBook at the moment, as I
prefer the form factor and I don't need Firewire 800 or a card slot.

In the office I have the MacBook on a stand, so that the keyboard is
at about 40 degrees, and the display is vertical. The stand is
actually a cheap plastic document stand from Office Depot - since the
MacBook has the disk slot on the side rather than the front.

It's connected up to an external keyboard and mouse and an external
display. Also to a 7-port USB hub and some chained Firewire (400)
devices.

It works really well - it's on all the time, and I've had no problems
with overheating or battery. It's just immediately ready if I do need
to take it out somewhere.

Unless you're working on extremely large projects/documents and/or do
things that would really benefit from quad processors, the new
laptops really can be your sole machine.

regards,

Paul

--
Paul Durrant, Durrant Software Limited, Reg.Co.No.: 2612332
Custom XTensions for QuarkXPress since 1991
82 Earlham Road, Norwich, Norfolk, NR2 3HA.
<http://www.durrant.co.uk/>

On 9/12/07 6:14 AM, "iainboyd" <iainmaplescombe.com> wrote:

> The laptop is better in many ways, and it really does seem that much software
> is improved on the Intel platform, but is it a workhorse?

It depends on what you are using the machine for. The towers will always be
faster (processor wise) than a laptop. If you are a heavy Photoshop, Final
Cut, audio editing kinda user, stick with the tower and the most RAM you can
afford.
--
Shawn King
Host/Executive Producer
Your Mac Life
http://www.yourmaclifeshow.com

On or about 9/12/07 3:14 AM, thus spake "iainboyd" <iainmaplescombe.com>:

> Clearly it's possible to connect an external monitor and keyboard to a laptop,
> plus the firewire cables, and even have a powered 7 port USB hub. I would only
> take it out of the house once or twice a month so it could stay connected up
> most of the time. But I have nagging doubts as to whether it's up to this sort
> of use.
>
> Has anyone been down this path? What decision did you make and why and were
> you pleased with your choice?

For a long time a Pismo was my primary desktop machine, using an external
monitor, keyboard, and mouse. To make the Pismo's own screen stand side by
side with the external monitor for effective spanning, I used a special
stand that held the Pismo vertical. There is no sense in which this machine
was "not up to this sort of use". I did major book-writing and a lot of
heavy number crunching (sound processing) on this machine, all day long,
every day, for years. m.

--
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One of the 2007 MacTech Top 25: <http://tinyurl.com/2rh4pf>
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Iain: For slightly over one year, I have used my MacBook (new in August 2006) as a desktop computer, driving a Viewsonic VA902B display, with Apple wireless keyboard and mouse, and also printing to an Epson C88 and Brother HL2040 laser printer, and occasionally scanning with an Epson Perfection 2400. Periodically, I also download pictures from my digital camera via USB (through two powered hubs), and also access two external drives via Firewire. Except for one foray to the local MacShoppe for installation of a larger hard disk, and rare turnoffs to reboot after some application has quit, it has always been "On" using external power. To date, I have had no problems related to continuous external power. The battery power indicator consistently shows about 96%. I did create a "stand" about an inch high to raise three sides of the MacBook for slightly better air circulation (no external fan). One added note: I obtained an enclosure to make use of the (removed) hard drive as an added external drive. It is always "on" and connected directly to a USB port on the MacBook (external powered hub did not work). It required a similar "stand" to raise it an inch to avoid its overheating. Such is one user's experience. Don Power

Back when there were only G4s at the top end, I found a Titanium 1Ghz
Powerbook with dock and a Village Tronic pc card for 3rd monitor to
be just fine for all my video/audio work. But the dual processing G5s
were so much faster, I found I needed one of those to take advantage
of the speed. Same today with the MacPro sytems. Sure, your MacBook
Pro is fast enough compared to the dual processing G5, but you
haven't seen what a quad core or better MacPro can do. Of course, if
you don't need that processing power (mostly 2D work, basic photo
touchup, some audio/itunes editing now and then) then a MBP can
certainly be your main tool. I basically look at what I'm doing over
all. When I do go out, I mainly need to use a browser and some light
weight computing, so I use an old g3 iBook and the only thing that's
synced is stuff already synced through .mac. Any documents I need, I
keep on a USB 4Gb flash drive so I can share between other systems.

So, my thing is ... how mobile must I be? Will I need to only sync
now and then? Then having two systems is fine. IF I'm taking all my
work on the move weekly, multiple times per week, then I'd seriously
consider using my laptop as my only or primary system. I try and
gauge my needs based on my 80% rule: if what I have works for 80% of
what I do, then that's fine. I can find a work around for the 20%.

Jeffrey
--
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear
bright until you hear them speak.......

On Sep 12, 2007, at 5:14 AM, iainboyd wrote:

> Has anyone been down this path? What decision did you make and why
> and were you pleased with your choice?

My MacBook Pro is my main desktop - I have a linux box and two PCs that just
do light duty (my favorite usenet news reader is still Forte Agent, and
nothing on the Mac comes close yet, although I've been trying to live with
Hogwasher). I don't use an external monitor or keyboard (might be nice, but
my desk is really small....). I have tons of USB and Firewire stuff plugged
in - when I travel it all gets pulled and then put back when I get home.

I take it on vacation and along on business trips (its fun traveling with
two laptops, one personal an done for work! - when I had the PowerBook I
could use the same power adapter for both - wish iGo would get their tip
ready for the MacBook).

The G4, which I had for 3 years before getting the MacBook Pro, is now my
wife's desktop (keep it closed on her desk with her old PC monitor and
keyboard plugged in - makes her feel cosier) - its still working after all
these years. It also went on trips with me.

Hope that helps. Good luck and have fun! - Bob

>I'm sure everyone has debated their ideal set-up. I've had a G5
>desktop for about 3 years, but recently have also been using a
>Macbook Pro. I can't really justify having two Macs for several
>reasons: tying up capital, the extra administration and effective
>syncing being the top three.

I've used a laptop as my primary computer for years. Currently on a
2.33 GHz MacBook Pro 15-inch, and it does everything I need. I
connect it to an external keyboard and monitor at home and a similar
setup at the office. I don't bother with a dock; seems like a lot of
money for something that isn't a huge deal.

The question, of course, is what you use your computer for. Are 2-4
GB of memory enough? Are you doing a lot of motion graphics work that
would require a more beefy video card or quad processors? If not,
then a MacBook as your main machine is a good way to go.

I do have other computers: my previous PowerBook G4 Aluminum now acts
as a backup/media server, and my wife has a MacBook that I borrow for
testing occasionally.

Jeff
--
____________________________________________________________
Jeff Carlson ....................... http://jeffcarlson.com/
Never Enough Coffee Creations.......... http://necoffee.com/
Managing Editor, TidBITS........... http://www.tidbits.com/
iMovie HD 6/iDVD 6 VQS....... http://necoffee.com/imovievqs/

At 03:14 -0700 UTC, on 2007-09-12, iainboyd wrote:

[...]

> Has anyone been down this path? What decision did you make and why and were
>you pleased with your choice?

I'm still pleased, yes. A few years ago I decided to get a PB G4 as my one
and only machine. Maybe if I'd need to carry it with me daily I'd prefer two
machines, but like you I only need to a few times a month. Basically my
reason was that I needed something much more up to date than my previous
desktop and laptop, but couldn't afford to replace both. The other reason was
that I really liked the idea of just packing up my machine and have
everything available always, wherever. So I chose a, much slower, PB G4 over
a G5 tower...

I still love the fact that I can just pack up my machine and always have have
everything with me, wherever.

A nice bonus that I hadn't realised I'd get, is that a laptop is so
incredibly quiet compared to the average desktop. I absolutely love that
quiet.

> And technically, any problems with things like: battery life?

After three years, the battery only gives me some 1.5 to 2 hours. Not too
bad, I guess.

> bus or processor performance?

Less than a desktop :) Whether that matters will depend on your use.

> overheating?

No.


--
Sander Tekelenburg, <http://www.euronet.nl/~tekelenb/>

On 2007-09-13, at 17:14, David Ross wrote:

> Battery life is affected mostly by the number of charing cycles. So
> keep it plugged in or unplugged for longer periods. Don't do lots
> of short cycles.

No longer true since Apple switched to lithium-ion:

<http://www.apple.com/batteries/>

On Sep 13, 2007, at 1:14 AM, Neil Laubenthal wrote:

> There are multiple fairly cheap solutions . . . an external
> drive is one but what you want is one that is automatic and just
> works.

I'm using Superduper! from ShirtPocket to back up daily to an
external FW drive.

Nice features of SD!
1, The backup copy can be made bootable
2. It can update the drive selectively in a few minutes using Smart
Update,
3. Scheduling is easy
4. The contents of the directory are readable in Finder

> I've got an iCal alarm for the first of every month to remind
> us to unplug the cord and let the batter run down monthly to preserve
> battery life.

Thanks for mentioning that! I had not heard that before, but its
confirmed:
http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html

> Heat is an issue with the laptops . . .but easily solved
> with one of the many laptop stands. We've got CoolPads but there is a
> new one available now (iLap) that is metal and seems to be a better
> choice.

I use a Podium Coolpad from
http://roadtools.com

Dick

On 09/12/2007 05:14 AM, "iainboyd" <iainmaplescombe.com> wrote:

> Clearly it's possible to connect an external monitor and keyboard to a laptop,
> plus the firewire cables, and even have a powered 7 port USB hub. I would only
> take it out of the house once or twice a month so it could stay connected up
> most of the time. But I have nagging doubts as to whether it's up to this sort
> of use.

I haven't used a desktop...really much at all since 1997. Started with a
5300 with a wonky mouse button, soon went to a 3400/240 and never looked
back.

>
> Has anyone been down this path? What decision did you make and why and were
> you pleased with your choice?

Very pleased. My current rig is a MacBook Pro. It Rocks.

>
> And technically, any problems with things like: battery life? bus or processor
> performance? overheating?

When I'm on battery, I turn the backlight down to the next to lowest level.
Its a free hour! Performance is excellent. It's hot, but as long as I'm
wearing some form of pants, (Yes Chuck, I always am, stop crying :-), it's
not been a problem.


--
John C. Welch Writer/Analyst
Bynkii.com Mac and other opinions
jwelchbynkii.com

>I've used a laptop as my primary computer for years. Currently on a
>2.33 GHz MacBook Pro 15-inch, and it does everything I need.

Ditto. But here's the deal; to claim that a laptop is my ONLY
computer, I need to have it replace not just a desktop computer, but
also my cell phone, ipod, PDA, and pocket camera; all pieces of gear
with varying levels of computing functionality that I have to drag
around with me... and if the Apple engineers put in just a bit more
effort in that direction, we'd have it now. Perhaps this is the
direction toward which the iPhone will evolve, but I doubt it.

As we have seen in this thread, the easy part is getting a laptop to
assume the role of a main computer. Now let's shrink it further.
Give us a dockable Mac with an Intel Duo processor and a 7"-8"
screen; twice the size of a 3.5" iPhone and half the size of a 15"
MacBook Pro.

H.