Laptop vs. Tower

13/01/2009 04:25 PM

Is the Tower Computer a thing of the past for homes?  The answer is yes.  It's exit is just around the corner.

The tower or its other incarnation, the desktop is the PC of the past.   It's not so personal anymore. You can buy them for sure and they are cheaper too.  Just take a gander at the DELL offerings online for some comparisons.

The original laptops were a bit fragile, but in the last five years they have come into their own.  The only people buying towers now are for business purposes where you need to load up some special features like cards for analog to digital conversions or sometimes for home use with very powerful sound or video cards not available on the modern laptop.

The ordinary user should purchase a laptop from a reliable company.  They are easily configured online and the delivery is very fast and the service is equally easy, if you keep the box. 

Open the box and turn them on and you are off to the races.  You don't need to know much to fire them up.  Most of them come with the following features:

  • Plenty of disk storage for your home needs.  If you produce a lot of pictures, then you  might want to buy a mass storage device that is universal serial bus (USB) reachable from your laptop to back up your system and treasures.
  • You have to be careful about the real memory as opposed to disk storage.  You should bulk up on real memory with as much as 3 to 4 gigabytes and no less.  This will make your system hum especially if you get VISTA.  The VISTA publicity is a tad exaggerated and for the most part, you will not have trouble with it except for a learning curve that is short, but sometimes steep.
  • Always get a mouse.  The touch pad is a pain, if you are a good navigator.  It's just too slow and hard to get used to for most of us.

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  • All the laptops come with wireless.  If you are not wireless in your home, you should be.  It's a wonderful thing to be able to wander around and not ever be far from the Internet.  It really works well.
  • Most all the laptops have a camera built in and you can use Skype or other services to talk to your friends and relatives 'face to face'.
  • You'll find that most good hotels and motels have high speed Internet service available and the laptop is expected as part or your travel gear by them.  Good coffee houses have them too.  Bruce County Public Buildings should get with the program!
  • I get very good audio and video reception on my laptop and I regularly watch great lectures or tune in on streaming video of current events. (Examples here)

What is the nicest thing about a laptop?  Far and away it is the lack of the garbage on your home desk and under your feet.  I've retired the 'gaggle' of wires under my feet.  I have a cabinet full of connectors and odds and ends that would stock a small town computer service depot.

No matter who you are, your next purchase should be a laptop.  Do I still have towers?  Yes and they are in my own private museum and can be used for backup.

Home networking is quite easy these days.  I've connected my laptop to DSL and cable modem very easily.  Of course the old printers hook up, but my next purchase will be a wireless printer.  I hate that snarl of wire.

Get a laptop and here's a final tip.  If you can take it for a 'ride'  I've got a nice Dell and they keyboard has a good area to support under my palms where they join the wrist.  Some laptops are just way too small and don't feel right when you use them at your desk.

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