What Do Your Plan To Use Your Laptop For?

I have found that my desired use for a laptop has greatly affected what I am looking to purchase when I look at laptops. Often I am tempted to look for power house machines because I used to be a big 3d animation buff (Like Finding Nemo’s animation) and I have been wanting to get back into that. Unfortunately, I really don’t have time to really fulfill that dream so I just use my new laptops to surf the net, blog here, write papers for school, etc. Basically, my laptops are roaming information systems.

The question you need to ask when you are gearing up to purchase a laptop (or any computer for that matter) is what you plan to be using that machine for. I have talked a bit about the natural strengths and weaknesses of laptops but many of those can be overcome with a large enough monetary investment in the top tech of today. The real question is: do you really NEED a powerful computer? Only you can really answer this question, but lets break down some needs for a powerful laptop.

Powerful Needs Need a Powerful Laptop

The first need that pops into my head is this: are you going to be making use of Microsoft’s newest operating system: Vista. It seems that Microsoft forgot about the fact that laptops don’t process that fast and just loaded it up with all kinds of processor intensive goodies. Sure it looks pretty, but the fact of the matter is it will require you to spend hundreds of dollars more to get a laptop that is capable of running Windows Vista at the level that you will like. If Vista is your only choice then just keep in mind that you are going to want to get a laptop with a faster processor and a bit more ram than the average laptop. Otherwise I’d recommend you look at other Operating Systems. Get your LCG to help you in selecting an Operating System that is best for your laptop needs.

Another reason that you might want a powerful laptop would be if you are looking to do any kind of computer gaming or other 3d graphics task. These require a special kind of power that laptops are not quite as efficient at delivering. It may be a good idea to find a laptop for your everyday portable needs and then invest in a small PC for your advanced portable needs (such as attending lan parties, etc.) I have a friend that drags around a giant desktop computer almost as if it was a laptop. It was much MUCH cheaper than an average laptop and performs far better than even the best laptops can perform these days. It is also much more heat efficient than a powerful laptop would be.

What About the Internet?

A new and unique way of viewing the internet is through Cell Phone Modems. If you are looking to be portable and still connected to the internet you may want to look into cell phone modems. Also Wi-Fi (Wireless) is still the way to go when it comes to using the internet with a laptop.

Get Rid Of Your Cables

Whatever you do with your laptop, the less cables that you employ in the use of that laptop the better off you are. If you are buying a laptop and planning to connect it up with a ton of cables to random devices then I again recommend a desktop that you will not need to move. This will also greatly increase your battery life if you are on battery. This means that you will want to get as much as you can built into the laptop from the beginning. If you are planning to use bluetooth than get it as part of the laptop, if you are planning to get a Cell Phone Modem then just go ahead and get it built into your laptop (they are beginning to come with these modems built right into the machine.)

You Can Do a Lot With A Little

I have been fighting the purchase of a powerful laptop through out this entire series of articles. I’m sure, if you are still reading by this point, that you are rather confused why I would recommend you purchase a cheaper laptop. The simple story is, a laptop really can only serve a select number of functions. Laptops are great for the following tasks:

• Checking Email
• Surfing the Web
• Working with Audio (playing music or internet radio, recording music and producing amature recordings.)
• Any kind of word processing.
• Simple 2D Graphics Work.
• Almost any kind of 2d gaming.

Honestly, there are a lot of things you can do with a relatively low amount of processing power. Laptops just cannot perform the more common tasks of computers like 3d gaming.

The Age Old Question: Mac or PC?

This is a question that has come up a plethora of times in the past six months. Macs are gaining momentum and are a quality alternative to windows. Here is my advice, plain and simple: Macs are just different. I’m not fan of Windows or Microsoft but if you know how to use windows then getting a mac might not be the best choice because you’ll have to relearn everything you already know about windows. There are also software issues. Though Apple has a solid selection of applications for their line of computers they will not likely have the programs that you have grown accustomed to (and paid for.) You will have to rebuild your software library.

If these things don’t stop you, then I have heard enough good about macs to be able to recommend them as a viable alternative to a PC. They cost more, but people seem to be satisfied with them. Just make sure that you aren’t just following buzz when you purchase a mac. You don’t want to regret your decision.

What I have said is all just a mindset for purchasing a laptop (You have to know the rules, to break them.)

This was a collection of ideas further illustrating my mindset on purchasing a good solid laptop. Since I started posting these articles I have heard some people agree and others disagree with my points. I would just like to conclude this post with the understanding that this entire series (and in fact this entire website) is a collection of ideas that I have tried and found true. That doesn’t mean that they will be true for you directly. I still recommend you read them because they will provide you with an expanded view on technology that is broad and abstract enough to allow you to better form your own opinion of the technology.

In short, learn what works for someone who is comfortable with using technology before you start making up your own guidelines for what works and what doesn’t. You may save yourself a few headaches!

Stay tuned for more in this series!

God Bless,
-Daniel Kolansky