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Ask HN: Why do people buy laptops?

1 points by lnxg33k1 ↗ HN
Yesterday I was reading the article about NixOS on the framework laptop, and the guy said that he had mostly a stationary machine, that was heavy etc.

So I don't have a working laptop, I had a couple in the past that were overheating, hard to un-dust, hardly fixable, and it was sitting always in the same spot, maybe except for when I had to go to holiday for a couple of weeks a year and wanted something to kill time.

Since then I have only bought desktops, and keep a low-power tablet/laptop for emergency, so what I wanted to ask people that still use laptops as primary machines, what's the reason why you guys buy those overexpensive, unfixable, limited machines even if like never going to work anywhere?

Of course everyone does whatever he wants, it is just a matter of curiousity for me, to understand if it's like the result of marketing or there's some reason I fail to see behind the popularity of laptops

10 comments

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illwrks
A lot of the people I work with have personal laptops and I think it comes down to convenience and nothing more.

I have a desktop, it takes up space but it's faster and I've a very large screen. There have been several times I've wanted to work from the sofa but I don't think it'd be as productive.

daviddever23box
Apple MacBook Air M1 achieves those ends at the cost of extensive on-chip integration, and has NO FAN.
lnxg33k1
AFAIK is has low repairability(?), limited resources and no expandability(?)? But with also other (personal) cons like vendor-lock-ins?
mindcrime
and it was sitting always in the same spot,

If that's the way you work, then maybe a laptop doesn't make sense. For me, I routine work from different locations in my home, and/or work from a nearby B&N Cafe. So portability is actually a requirement for me.

If was going to have a home machine that didn't need to move around, then I'd probably build/buy a desktop machine for that.

khedoros1
I've got a work laptop, because that's what I was issued. It's hooked up to a dock and a couple monitors, and mostly doesn't move (although it gives me the option to go into the office, as it previously gave me the option to work from home on snow days and such).

I have a personal desktop for the power-per-price, upgradeability, and repairability reasons. I have a couple of personal laptops in different rooms, because sometimes I want a computer somewhere besides hidden in the office. I don't have a tablet that I use; touchscreens always make me wish for a mouse+keyboard.

mmphosis
power consumption. When the power goes out, the laptop stays on longer than my desktop sized UPS.

obviously space. I don't even know where I'd put a desktop.

silence. I am not a fan of fans. I have a relatively "under-powered" CPU/GPU which is good enough. I am not a gamer. Although I'd love to have a 64GB+ RAM laptop, an ultra-thick AMD gaming laptop won't work for me. Liquid cooling is not in my future.

flexible small thin devices. Plug and play. Our computing experience is not limited to a solitary grey box. Our phones, laptops, and small board computers (ie. raspberry pi) are still running after decades in some cases. A hardware "upgrade" is plugging in monitors, mice, keyboards, and other cabled/wireless devices into other various devices. I don't have to take apart a dusty grey box in order to swap things around.

lnxg33k1
Your points make sense a lot for me, at least based on my experience, I have to turn off my desktop overnight because otherwise the fan noise would not allow me to sleep properly, but more than a problem with desktop itself (I have a liquid cooling anyway that is relatively quiet) I picked a AMD RX6900XT that might be noiseful so I guess laptop would solve that (or a cheaper VGA)

But in terms of space, I am not sure, I have a microATX case where the VGA fits by a nail, and it doesn't take that much space

mmphosis
Oh yeah, micro ATX I would consider. I have a stack of 2 old Mac minis. If money was no object, I would add a room for a maxed out Talos Raptor.
enonevets
It really depends on how a person works.

For me, I am frequently mobile, meaning I don't sit in one spot all the time. Having a powerful laptop as my primary makes perfect sense in that case.

simonblack
what's the reason why you guys buy those overexpensive, unfixable, limited machines even if like never going to work anywhere?

Cost-effectiveness over time. I buy a good laptop maybe once a decade. If I upgrade it at all, it will only be to enlarge the storage capacity. My philosophy there is like my cars: "Buy twice as good and buy half as many". I keep my cars for over 10 years too.

Like you, my main machine is a desktop. But I have to have a machine always with me for business because I never know when it might be needed.

I like to see what I'm working on. Looking at tiny phone or laptop screens feels like I'm doing keyhole surgery. A laptop is good for travel, but it's really just a substitute for a good desktop.