Anyone else use laptop full time and have no 'home office'?

[samalex]

Hi,

We recently moved into a new house, and even though we have a room that's becoming our rec/catch all room, I don't have a formal desk or office. When I was single living solo in a 3 bedroom house i had the stereotypical computer room with bookshelves full of tech books, 3 to 4 monitors on the desk, no less than 4 systems running at any given time, and just a haven for geekdom.

Once I got married and started finding things to do away from the computer, then having kids, my time to spend 'nerding out' dwindled down to very little (no regrets mind you), so the office slowly evolved into a small collection of coveted books, a home server tucked away in a closet, and my laptop. I have no formal office, desk, or anything like that.

For me this works out great because 100% of my stuff is portable, and whether I'm traveling, going to work, or even just moving from the bedroom, kitchen table, or living room my stuff is all there.

So just curious, how many people are in this same scenario? And for those who have the large setups what would stop you from going to a laptop? I can see gaming being a huge reason, but outside of that what else? I find using a laptop full time to be very refreshing, but I do sometimes miss sitting at my huge desk of monitors and having SO much going on at once.

Take care --

Sam

[lisati]

We tried having a room set aside for geekdom, but eventually settled on a corner of the lounge.

[Dragonbite]

We have a small house and kids so there isn't much extra room available in the house.

We have a "family computer" in the back wall of the living room which is just the desktop computer and scanner/printer. I don't get much time with this.

My main system is the laptop which I really wish had a better battery life so I could go longer without being tethered with plugging it it.

In the basement I have the routers and servers, as well as a table I am using as a desk/work table. This also has the closest thing to a "docking station" which consists of an external USB hub and external monitor. Unfortunately it is also next to the dehumidifier which is really loud when it kicks on and otherwise annoying.

At one point, my wife was using my laptop in the kitchen "office" next to the phones and her calendar but I took it back since then.

[C.S.Cameron]

Perhaps you are just going through a phase.
Once your wife and kids get to a certain age you may want your refuge back.

[whiskeylover]

Same here. I have one small desk next to a wall in the bedroom which houses one desktop (acting as a web access terminal when people are too lazy to go fetch the laptop) and one ancient laptop (serving as an SSH/web/IRCBot server)

My primary computer is my laptop.

[NightwishFan]

I am on the road so much I have no use for a desktop unless I can vnc into it.

[kaldor]

I am on the road so much I have no use for a desktop unless I can vnc into it.

Indeed. I move around often and can't do much with my desktops.

I miss Saruman.

[NightwishFan]

The Lee shall return. He currently is fixing a bothersome flood from the river Isen.

[sgosnell]

I mostly use my 9" netbook for everything, but I still have a computer desk in a spare bedroom. I've long given up on the desktop computer, because I want everything in one place. I usually just use the netbook as a laptop wherever I am, but I've set up a more elaborate system at the computer desk. I have the LCD monitor, wireless keyboard & mouse, USB DVD drive, and speaker system there, and I can just plug it all up to the netbook, and use it as a desktop when I want. I have an older 7" netbook, bought when they first started being sold, doing duty as a file server with a USB HDD attached, so I have everything I need available without ever firing up the desktop, which has been mostly disassembled over the past year or so, for parts. I don't use the computer desk that often, but it's nice to have a place to go now and then for serious work, and listening to music while I do it. Mostly I work in the living room where my wife is. I'm gone at work away from home more than half the time, so I prefer to stay with her rather than hide in the computer room, which is what I used to do. I don't like being tied to one place all the time.

[dragos240]

I sadly can't share that experience. I prefer a desktop to a laptop still.

[Eldera]

I have some health issues related to my age (swelling feet and arthritis in my back). Sitting at a desktop became a problem a few years ago and I gave my desktop and all peripherals away a year ago. I work in an easy chair with my feet up on a hassock and one of my laptops literally in my lap. I have a printer scanner on a little stand beside me and can reach over and plug it in whenever I need a print-out. I have another small table on which I can put a laptop if I just want to play some music. I am really thankful for laptops. I would have had to give up using a computer if I still had to sit at a desk.


I guess the bottom line is: whatever works.

Edit: Dragos, you're much younger than, quite a bit younger than, a little bit younger than a-ah-I

[Dragonbite]

For a while I used my Lazy-Boy chair for the desktop system and found out a couple things
keyboard and mouse chords are pretty long
be careful what you're watching, because you don't know who is going to wake you up when you fall asleep ;)

I wanted to, but never did get my hands on a wireless keyboard.

I think if I had a good battery life ( a couple to a few or more hours) and a bigger screen (14"-15") without it being too bulky then I would use the laptop on the couch/etc. all of the time.

[samalex]

Battery life is the biggest problem with my laptop since it only goes for about 1.5 hours tops, but I sacrificed battery life to have a larger screen, 7200 RPM drive, and some extra bells and whistles. Besides unless I'm doing work stuff that 1.5 hours is good enough to surf and once the battery hits about 5% it's a good clue that I need to unglue myself from the system and find something else to do.

Someone mentioned that this may be a phase, and you're right. I also want to get more into amateur radio (licensed for a few years but haven't done much), so once the kiddos get alittle older I may try to setup a refuge/ham shack/geek hideout in the garage (though Texas summers are BRUTAL) or maybe built a small shop in the back yard. Not sure. But for now the laptop gig is working for me quite well.

One thing I will say is whenever a decent Android tablet comes out I'll probably get one since most of my surfing is UStream, YouTube, Wikipedia, Podcasts/Videocasts, or just reading articles/ebooks. If I could find a decent tablet that might replace the laptop for most of those tasks. We've even thought about jumping into an iPad, but I want I'll wait until iOS4 comes to the iPad before making that decision.

Sam

[Dragonbite]

I'd love to convert the barn into an external home office/ refuge but I don't do enough to validate the pain of having to convert it (insulate, heat, etc.) or trouble of finding a spot to put everything currently in the barn.

But I still dream about it..