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Is a Laptop Computer better than a Desktop Computer?

RT Cunningham — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 09:26:03 +0000

Are laptop computers better than desktop computers? I don't think so, but today I was reminded of one the reasons why most Filipinos buy one form of laptop or another. It's because a laptop battery is included and can usually last up to three hours or more, depending on what applications are being run. A backup power supply for a desktop computer has to be purchased separately.

Laptop Computers versus Desktop Computers

This is more prevalent in under developed countries like the Philippines, but brownouts can seriously cramp your computing style. It makes sense to have a battery backup of some kind and laptops, including netbooks, come with the batter backups as part of the basic equipment.

A laptop also takes up less space than a desktop computer because everything is integrated into a notebook-style shell. When you live in a small apartment, space is at a premium and some people like having more space to use for other things.

Desktop computers have become smaller over the years as people switch from the old CRT (cathode ray tube) monitors to LCD (liquid crystal display) monitors. Although OLED (organic light emitting diode) technology is slowly making its way into laptops (and consumes even less electricity than the LCD), it may never make its way into desktop computer monitors. I think the reason is because laptop computers will eventually be the only types of full-scale computers that can be obtained. No, the e-book readers and specialized tablets like the iPad are not full-scale computers and will never replace them.

Other Considerations

I'm currently using a netbook as a backup computer and a desktop computer as my primary computer. I prefer working at a desktop computer for a variety of reasons. One of the reasons is that I hate the touchpad (or trackpad) on a laptop computer. I always plug in a cordless optical mouse, an item that I think every laptop road warrior should have in possession at all times.

I also like the ability to get keyboards big enough for my fat fingers. I learned how to type on a manual typewriter in 1975 (yes, I'm old, so shut up) long before the word keyboard became prominently used. Even a wide screen notebook computer has keys that seem too close together for comfortable typing (and I type 60+ words per minute on a bad day). The final reason I prefer desktop computers over laptop computers is because components can be changed as they break, or at least most of them. I haven't seen a laptop yet where anything can be changed easily.

A laptop computer would be much more enticing to me and to other people who prefer desktop computers if the main components could be easily replaced without taking the laptop computer to a service center. Even the mainboard (also called motherboard) should be easy to replace.

Oh, you're looking for that reason, right?

I experienced a three and a half hour brownout which shut down my computer while I was doing some other work. It was unannounced and unexpected — we have good weather. No, I haven't bought the UPS (uninterruptible power supply) I mentioned about eight months ago.

I'm retired and living on a pension. I have a fixed budget that covers more than I want it to, but that's a different story. I won't even be able to afford a coffee maker (and I'm getting real tired of instant coffee) until after I pay my income tax (or maybe not, it all depends on how badly the current administration has mucked up the tax laws) and my son's next semester of college.

Give me a break. At least I managed to buy a netbook as a backup and that was a financial feat in itself.

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Recycling a Dead Notebook Computer

RT Cunningham — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 05:34:26 +0000

The HP notebook computer (HP Pavilion DV8110-US) that I bought in late 2005 or early 2006 died on me in September of 2007. First, the fan quit working right and I thought it was just dust, but I was wrong. Then a couple of weeks later, the monitor started developing vertical red lines and I thought it was dirty connections, but I was wrong. I'm not a genius, but I was able to take it apart and clean everything. It was to no avail, because the problems did not disappear.

Shelving the Notebook Computer

Since my notebook computer was past its one-year warranty period and I didn't want to spend days or weeks finding the HP service center in Manila, I shelved it and bought a desktop computer the following month. The desktop computer, by the way, is still working fine.

I initially thought I was just having bad luck or some other factors caused my notebook computer to not last very long. This wasn't the case at all. When I bought my notebook computer, I bought the exact same model and configuration for my older son, who took it to Germany with him. His notebook computer died on him a few months later with similar problems. He had it fixed, though, because there was an HP authorized service center near where he lived. Still, the fix only lasted about six months.

My friend, Hari, recently wrote about how his own HP Pavilion laptop was taken in for its periodic service (he has an extended warranty on it) and how he's getting tired of it, considering the laptop is only about 2-years old.

A Netbook as a Backup Computer

Around the beginning of August, 2009, I bought an MSI Wind netbook. I wasn't willing to spend another $1000 plus for a decent notebook computer, just to have it start giving me problems after a couple of years (since it would be a backup computer). I spent less than $400 for the netbook, which I found acceptable. It came with 1 gigabyte of memory and "Windows XP Home" installed. I'm going by memory right now, without actually firing up the netbook, and I think it has a 160 gigabyte hard disk drive in it.

I do not know if I can add memory to the netbook and I don't know if the memory modules in the dead notebook are compatible with it, but I'm getting ready to check (probably tomorrow morning when it's the coolest part of the day). There are two 512 megabyte memory modules and if memory serves me, I think the netbook can only accept two memory modules. If it has a single 1-gigabyte module, then I'll probably only be able to add a single 512-megabyte memory module. If it already has two in place, then I won't be able to add any at all.

I have an external HDD case waiting to be filled by a drive. The drive in the dead notebook is the right size and it's just a matter of removing it from notebook computer. The memory modules are easy to get to, but I have to remove a bunch of screws to get to the hard disk drive.

Can anything else be recycled?

That's a good question. There aren't many things in any laptop computer capable of being used anywhere but where they are right now. This is the problem with proprietary systems. Most desktop computers don't suffer from this problem.

I will keep whatever is left of the dead notebook computer in permanent storage just in case I find out that there's something left that I can actually use from it. This isn't unusual for me. I have parts, cords, cables and other things in storage which came from old computers. I'm not a pack rat, but I've found that I usually have what I need when a part needs to be replaced in a desktop computer. Such in not the case with laptops and I really don't want to build up a collection for them.

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The Samsung Netbooks vs. The HP Netbooks

RT Cunningham — Fri, 29 May 2009 11:34:20 +0000

In my (seemingly) never-ending search for the best netbook to serve as a backup computer, I've virtually examined more than I can count. I've narrowed down the choices to laptop models made by HP and Samsung and will probably end up with a Samsung N120-12GBK, based on a netbook review. The clincher will be the number of positive reviews I read about it. I still have some time and nothing is yet set in stone.

The HP Netbooks

Sometimes called netbooks and sometimes called mini laptops, they're basically the same thing when advertised by HP. I'm not going to name HP model numbers because there are several that fit the bill.

My dead notebook computer is an HP notebook in the DV-8000 series (I'm not pulling it out to look at the exact number). My older son also has the exact same model and I don't know if his still works or not because he's in Germany and he hasn't mentioned it at all.

The HP netbooks come with a lot preloaded software that I don't want or need, just like the notebook I have. The keyboards appear to be all at 93 percent the size of a standard keyboard, which isn't too bad, but the monitors all seem to be missing 24 pixels from the vertical display. That was the deal-breaker as far as one review I read. Obviously, the reviewer never heard of F11 in Firefox.

The Samsung Netbooks

I don't know about the other models, but the Samsung N120-12GBK seems to be right up my alley. It has the full 1024×600 resolution, which seems to be a netbook standard, and a full-sized keyboard.

I may have mentioned this before, but I'm expert in touch typing and not keyboarding. There really is a difference. I have no problems with the same keys you'd find on a typewriter, but the extra keys on keyboards have always given me problems. The biggest problem is remembering where the extra keys are since they're in different places on just about every keyboard configuration I've ever used.

When it comes to using any keyboard, I can do magic if the standard keys are in the right places. I don't need the 10-key keypad at all. I once took a typing test and scored better using the top-row numbers than most people who use the 10-key keypad.

I don't know why this particular Samsung model ranked at number 4 of a best netbooks list, but the only bad thing mentioned was that it was a little more expensive than the other three. The actual price difference is only about $50 dollars if you shop around. I think $50 is well worth it for the full-sized keyboard alone.

Laptop Price Observations

This is the part of shopping for any laptop that bothers me the most when searching for the best laptop prices. It seems that black and white laptops are cheaper than laptops with other colors. Surprisingly, pink laptops seem to be the most expensive of all the colored laptops.

One also has to be careful about what's included. The sellers seem to charge the same price for 512MB included as they do for 1024MB (1GB) included. I'm sorry, but 512MB isn't enough to run Windows XP regardless of how few applications you have your laptop. It may be enough to run Linux, but then the GUI would still get bogged down once you started using it a lot. You must start with 1GB of RAM and then go from there. If you're running Windows Vista, 2GB would probably be okay and the new Windows 7 would probably eat up 4GB. Every version of Windows seems to require twice as much memory as the predecessor in order to run the right way out of the box.

For the most part, netbooks generally have the same base configurations. It's the details you have to watch out for and you'd be extremely wise to compare the feature sets of any brands or models you're thinking of buying before you commit.

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Netbooks, Notebooks and Laptops

RT Cunningham — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 14:28:39 +0000

While I was writing a post about netbook, notebook and laptop computers on my main blog, I was inspired to set up this site.

Until the beginning of July, 2009, I'll be doing some online window shopping of netbook computers. I already own a now-dead notebook computer and I don't feel like taking that route again.

Laptops

The term "laptop computer" encompasses the computer that are now called "netbooks" and "notebooks" and hybrids that are a little of both. That may sound redundant, but it isn't. A netbook is designed for a different kind of user than a notebook.

Notebooks can replace desktop computers. Netbooks cannot. Netbooks are designed to be less resource intensive and therefore aren't designed to do everything notebook computers can do. The current models of netbook computers run either Linux or Windows XP. Windows Vista uses more resources than a netbook is intended to provide.

Netbooks

Since notebooks are designed to be both portable, either wired or wireless, and can completely replace desktop computers, I won't mention anything else about them right now.

Netbook computers are designed for wireless communication and access to the Internet, not for day to day computing needs. They're primarily designed for web browsing and taking care of email. They rely heavily on remote access to Internet web-based applications.

Since netbooks cost less to manufacture and are less expensive than notebooks and desktop computers, they're poised to become more widely used than the other types of computers within the next few years.

My Quest

I'm searching for a suitable netbook computer to be used for two purposes: 1) As my backup computer, since my online business is web-based and only requires three applications and 2) As a computer than my wife can use to assist me while I'm using my desktop computer.

I am a typist. I learned to type on manual typewriters before most people even knew what a computer was — somewhere around 1975. I prefer a full-sized keyboard. The netbook I choose will have to have keys large enough for my large fingers and wide enough for me to be comfortable typing on.

I'm not concerned about the screen size. I know that I won't be getting one of the smallest netbooks because using the keyboard would keep me in a constant state of frustration. If the screen size is any indication of how big the keyboard is, I'll be looking for the largest netbook available. If I can get a good enough deal, I may even get two of them at the same time (one for the wife and one for me).

Wireless Broadband

There is at least one decent wireless broadband company local to me. I have DSL connection for the PC I'm using right now, but I want to use a wireless connection for my netbook, even if it can use a wired connection.

With the DSL provider I currently use, I'm limited to one connection and it's patchy at times. I'm required to have a standard land line in order to have the connection. With a wireless provider, I don't need an additional land line. If the wireless provider works out, I may ditch the DSL provider completely along with the land line I never use.

Share Your Opinions and Experience

If you have a laptop computer of some kind and would like to share your opinion or experience with it, feel free to send me a message using the contact form. If I write it about it, I'll include a link to your site (if you have one). You can also share your opinions on models you've looked at.

My own research is going to be web-based since I live in the Philippines and don't have access to a good supply of netbooks where I can physically examine them. I'm sure I'll find a few, but I'll still get the specs from the web.

Since netbooks and notebooks continue to evolve, I won't stop doing research when I finally get one for myself. The lifespan of any computer is finite and I'll have to replace one or more computers in a relatively short period of time — probably within five years.

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