Using laptop for web designing/development : ur experience please

Hi friends !

I don't know whether this is the right place to ask this question but probably a desktop pc is also a tool.

Of late I have been considering designing/writng content for my website on a laptop. I didn't have the one right now and at present I have been doing all my work on my desktop pc. However, being on an offline hectic job, I can't find much time for updating my website. In the evening I can't claim a full right over the PC at home as other family members also do their surfings. Often for days I can't find some free time for my desktop.Further, I often get tired at evening and do not like to sit on desktop (just like I do in office).

In view of these problems I am considering to buy a laptop for my general development work (desigining, writing content etc). It'll give me the freedom to work anywhere , in any place (like on my bed) anytime. However, before I invest a substantial money into it, I would like to have your advice in the matter. Is laptop a good choice for me. How many of you are using laptop for ur website related development work. Will it be easy or tough ?

Please advice and tell me ur experience. Thanks !

 

Get a wifi laptop with a widescreen display...and buy a wireless router/accesspoint so that you can relax elsewhere and work

I'd recommend a toshiba laptop

 

I used a laptop for years but found when applications that I used become more demanding my laptop could not cope. I guess it all depends on what sort of development work you are doing are you working with notepad, dream weaver and or Photoshop.

The demands of the latest adobe applications will put heavy demands on your processor and require quite a bit of ram if however you are just developing code and updating then it should be great. Just make sure you get a WI-FI connection and you have the freedom you need.

 

Optical mouse works terribly on bed and touchpads are a pain.

But, like you said, it does provide freedom but shared bandwidth with the desktop..

 

I've used a dell Precision M60 for the last 2 years. It's marketed as a workstation in a laptop. The performance is great, it has 2 GB RAM and a faster spinning HD than the average laptop. It's a wide screen which is great. I never use the touchpad or the finger mouse thing, i do use a wireless mouse which works well on most surfaces.

I would look to make sure you get enough USB ports, i only have 3 and up swapping phone and iPod all the time. I would also look for screen brightness and of course a good keyboard feel.

J

 

Thanks to all of you for such nice suggestions. I am not gong to do some heavy graphic work on the laptop. It'll basically meant for my content creation (mainly writing articles and newsletter for my website).

However, one more thing I ant to ask. In a desktop, the keyboard and screen are separate. But in laptop, they are attached. Does this create problem or is it OK ?

 

Nope. Works alright by me...

 

My friend has both a Toshiba and a MacBook... either or are both great for designing websites as he has a lot of experience doing so and they all turn out just wonderfully.

 

If think laptop is fine as long as you don't do much coding ('cause 2 screens can be useful) and you don't use heavy software (graphical suite or 3D...).

But If you can got one with a fast procsessor and lots of RAM (and maybe sometimes, another screen aside ) go for it. I do all my web development with it and I would recommend it.

 

Many thanks to all of you for guiding me on this issue.

Regards

 

Get a wide-screen laptop at least 15.4" or more. 17" is nice but a bit heavy.
Screen size does matter when you have to stare at a laptop screen for hours.

 

well I'm in bed with my laptop right now... zd8000 w/ 2gb ram...battery life sucks but I have it plugged in... I use a touch pad but I also have a 40 inch plasma attached to the end of my bed hooked up to a dual xeon with a wireless keyboard and mouse...laptops can really get hard to work on for more than 4-5 hours at a time for me at least... :-p

Anyways to answer your question, if you are not running something like maya 3d then I'd say a laptop is fine. Look into building one to spec if you really want something powerful....also it depends on what you want to spend... laptops are far more costly than a desktop. hope that helps.

 

I have a laptop and I like it. For some reason colors are a bit different on it.. It seems the LCD screen makes everything brigther.. Maybe it is just my laptop

 

I love using my laptop. As others have said, don't plan on running a 3D program or high end games. But for web design, I've never run into a problem. It lets me get work done all over town!

 

if it is only use for web design, you don't need those fancy configuration. a 800-1200 dollar notebook will do the job.

Widescreen is a must IMO

 

If you are using it for web design (programming), get at least 1GB of RAM.

Especially when using Netbeans and/or Visual Studio 2005

 

i use both, laptop and desktop,
i would prefer laptop, keep things wire free and clean,
desktop takes lot of space and its just a mess
i would recommend a wide screen too

 

I recently bought a Sony VAIO FE670G, and i am pretty happy with its performance.

Initially it would take some time to shift from a desktop to laptop, since this is the first time you are using a notebook, but you'll hang of it in a few days.

Buying a laptop is a right decision for you.

 

sony laptops really cool, i got one which is hp,

 

I cant stand working on only one screen, best friend in this business uses laptop only and he doesnt mind. When I travelI use my laptop and take my external drive. Past the dual screens I haven't bought a copy of adobe for the laptop as they will only allow on one PC.