Comments on: The Aging Office

By: Lori

Lori — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:28:00 +0000

I’m so used to a desktop, Kathy, that I’m seriously questioning the laptop idea. Tell me – why do those screens have to be so dang hard to see? You’d think given all the technology someone would’ve figured out how to put a decent monitor on a laptop.

By: Irreverent Freelancer

Irreverent Freelancer — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:25:00 +0000

Okay, I see I’m in the minority here, but I have a desktop and a laptop. The laptop almost never gets used. These days, it’s mostly just a storage device for digital photos. I bought it so I could work outside during the nice weather. Unfortunately, once you’re running off battery power the screen resolution is so dark and poor that that’s out of the question. I like having it to take with me on vacation, but that’s about it. LOVE my new widescreen desktop monitor, though.

By: Lori

Lori — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:15:00 +0000

I think I’ll take your advice, Nikki. 🙂

By: Nikki

Nikki — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:36:00 +0000

I don't have an office - I know shame on me. Four kids tend to take up a lot of space so sadly I make use of my laptop's ability to move. I got it last summer when I figured I would use it for school also. I will, I repeat, I will never use my desktop again. That's for the kids. And I won't even discuss how old it is or how many modems I've been through or other various parts.

I love that I can pack it up in a bag and take it where ever I need to go. Kids irritating and too noisy, unplug and move to another room? Power outages? I've got about two hours of batter time with my laptop and I use Firefox so any web pages I was on when the power went out are the first ones I see when I've got electricity again because it saves your last session.

At first I didn't think I would get used to the keyboard or the mouse but after having this for a year, everything else is foreign to me.

My perfect office would just be to have an office.

Be like Nike; Just Do It.

By: Lori

Lori — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 20:09:00 +0000

That IS useful – thank you!

By: writtenexpressions

writtenexpressions — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 18:47:00 +0000

My friend Skippy is a huge technogeek, and he recently did a lot of legwork trying to determine which laptop to purchase. Here's a link to his final post about it (there's a link within this post to his other post on the topic). He gets pretty technical, and not all of it has to do with laptop A vs. laptop B, but hopefully you can glean something useful from it.

By: Eileen Coale

Eileen Coale — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:48:00 +0000

Lori, I do not use an external monitor. I just put the laptop on a stand that raises it about 3" so that the laptop screen used with the external wireless keyboard are ergonomically beneficial.

If I want to move around the house (or work outside) I carry laptop, stand, wireless keyboard, mouse, and mousepad around in a large basket I bought just for that purpose, and then set up wherever I want to. If I'm not going to be doing too much work in a non-office location, I'll skip all the paraphernalia and just take the laptop alone. But I try not to, because my right arm will start bothering me without the right setup.

By: Lori

Lori — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:27:00 +0000

Kimberly, I feel your pain and frustration! I used to be right on top of technology. But then DOS went to Windows and then Windows morphed from 3.11 into the stratosphere… ;)) I’m also betting you have a Dell laptop. My daughter’s just died. Diagnosis – motherboard problems. Four years old! Sheesh.

Eileen, thanks for the advice. Do you use an external monitor, as well?

By: Kimberly Ben

Kimberly Ben — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:59:00 +0000

What a timely post – my lap top just crashed for the second time this year – faulty motherboard chip. I think I’ll be needing a new one by the end of the year as well.

Like you, Lori, I pretty much only replace things when they break. I’m not terribly tech savvy – I have a desk top, lap top (well, kind of…), printer and I just bought an Alpha Smart Neo wireless gadget on ebay for those days when I’m dragging four small children to and from the dentist, doctors appointments and any other place that might require extended wait times – but I need to figure out how to operate the damn thing.

By: Eileen Coale

Eileen Coale — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:23:00 +0000

My husband coaxed me into switching from a desktop to a laptop about four years ago, and I've been thanking him ever since. We also have a wireless internet connection. I use a MacBook. I do use a wireless keyboard and put the laptop on a stand to raise the screen height most of the time; if I don't, my mousing wrist starts to bother me.

Our neighborhood is plagued with frequent power outages, and I have spent too many work days in wifi coffee houses that otherwise would have been totally unproductive days. I can and do take the laptop with me on travel.

Best of all, even though I have a fairly nice office, it's in the basement and gets no natural daylight. So during the school year, when I don't need to isolate myself from the kids, that laptop goes upstairs or even outside on the picnic table where I can work with natural daylight.

I can't imagine being tethered to a desk.

Get a laptop. Get a laptop. Get a laptop.