Advice needed for laptop purchase

[Richard Barrett]

wear clothing that has zips rather than buttons. Working in a cramped space without your hands completely free means that you’ll be able to whip things out more easily.

(as the bishop said)

[umslopogaas]

Oh PLEASE will someone remind me what the bishop said to the actress, my mind's gone blank and I promise 'twasnt always so.

I can only think of limericks

From the crypt of the church of St Giles
Came a scream that echoed for miles
Said the vicar "Good gracious
has Father Ignatius
Forgotten the Bishop has piles?"

[Daniel]

Oh PLEASE will someone remind me what the bishop said to the actress, my mind's gone blank and I promise 'twasnt always so.

I think it's something you simply insert it into any passing double entendre of your choice. (As the bishop said .. )

[MrGongGong]

A small point to bear in mind if your travel involves flying economy class is, dont get a machine that is too large. The biggest laptops would overflow your lap and intrude on the passengers next to you, which wouldnt be popular, especially if they were trying to use laptops as well.

"Anyone who turns right when they get on an aeroplane doesn't deserve to have a laptop computer"

[richardfinegold]

You may want to consider a tablet, since you are only using it for traveling. Smaller and more compact yet.

[Stanfordian]

Thanks everyone for your help.

[Dave2002]

"Anyone who turns right when they get on an aeroplane doesn't deserve to have a laptop computer"

What?

[Beef Oven!]

"Anyone who turns right when they get on an aeroplane doesn't deserve to have a laptop computer"

How about those that turn right, then walk the length of the aircraft to take their seat?

[Tetrachord]

"Anyone who turns right when they get on an aeroplane doesn't deserve to have a laptop computer"

Sorry, are you talking about political orientation??:-) I didn't know planes could make you partisan!!

[MrGongGong]

(it was a joke BUT maybe this explains it a little ?)

[Dave2002]

Made things worse! What do the %s signify? Survival probabilities in the event of a crash perhaps?

[MrGongGong]

Made things worse! What do the %s signify? Survival probabilities in the event of a crash perhaps?

YES

[Tetrachord]

(it was a joke BUT maybe this explains it a little ?)

Yes, I know what you meant! I was trying to be funny. Boom boom.

[Dave2002]

This probably won't help, and may be irrelevant as our OP is mainly interested in text. Most of the points already made re portability, lightness etc. are likely to be very important, and could override any other considerations. However, for some types of work it really does help to have a much larger screen, and even a 15 inch laptop may not provide a big enough desktop area.

I just tried to edit a photo on my 13 inch MacBook Pro, and I'm giving up. I'm going to transfer the file to my iMac and do the work there. For that kind of application the more screen available the better, and another factor is that some screen space can be taken up with the tools necessary to carry out the work. I was trying to use GIMP, and I wanted to see the Layers and also the Paintbrush tools. Although the work could be done on a laptop, it would be rather painful to try.

Other applications which might be difficult include video editing - for example using Premiere Elements or Final Cut Pro X, again because of the need to be able to see different views of the project, but also because of the screen space taken up with the tools in each package.

For working with text some people like to have two roughly A4 sized windows side by side, which is possible with a large display.

I just thought I'd point this out in case it could be relevant for anyone thinking of buying a laptop. Discovering the limitations of a small sceen later could be an unwanted experience, and if anticipated some mitigation or avoidance can be exercised.

[johnb]

Dave, if someone has a laptop as their main computer and find the screen size (or keyboard) limiting then the "standard" solution is to use the laptop "as is" when traveling or moving it around the home but have a table or desk with a separate monitor (and keyboard), then it is s simple matter to plug the monitor (and keyboard) in when required. That way you have all the benefits of a laptop and a desktop combined.

Most business laptop manufacturers provide docking stations (or port replicators) for just such a purpose. The monitor and keyboard are left plugged into the docking station and the laptop quickly slips into the docking station.