Ask HN: What's your computer setup?

ZaReason Strata Pro 13" w/Core 2 & SSD.

Just fast enough for my needs, a ULV processor so I can feel good about not sucking too much energy (the SSD makes up for the lack of CPU power, it still feels 'fast'), and Ubuntu FTW.

Eminently portable (3.5lbs), decent resolution on the screen and a nice keyboard (on par if not a little better than my old MacBook Pro's keyboard).

I love it as it has just enough of everything I need and not too much.

HP Pavilion dv6000 running Windows Vista (gaming) and Ubuntu 10.04

Would love to get more boxes to play around with, but as a broke student, VMs help.

Before I list my setup, I'd like to ask: What's with all the laptops?

I worked off a 15-inch laptop for several years, but after using a desktop, I've completely converted. Laptops give you less screen space and less computational power, and in general I've never liked their keyboards. They're also more expensive (I think?) and trickier to self-build. The only advantage I see is portability, which is understandable, but I think it's more that they're becoming the new default computer type for everyone, rather than having people choose between them and desktops.

Anyway, mine:

I put together the desktop a couple months back: AMD Phenom II X4 @ 3.6GHz, 4GB RAM, and an SSD for the OS and programs. I decided to future-proof myself, after living off that laptop for too long. It's connected to two Acer monitors - one 24-inch, one 23.6-inch, leaving a difference that's enough to irritate me every time I try to align things perfectly. It runs Windows 7 for general use and a virtualised Arch Linux machine for development work. I've tried setting up Windows the way I like it, but when Linux is available I don't think it's worth the effort. The VM does nothing but run Emacs in seamless mode, so everything still works together, and I don't have to worry about window managers.

I type in dvorak on a Kinesis Advantage (the black one). I've never had recurring hand problems, but the keyboard setup feels so much nicer to use, I stick with it. That, and a Logitech mouse that I'm ambivalent about.

My phone is an HTC Dream (aka the G1), running Cyanogen 2.1. It's been outclassed several times by today's standard of phones, but I'm waiting until it fully breaks down before replacing it. Not sure what with yet, which is a shame, because I like the design, even if the hardware space bar is already starting to go.

All in all, I'm happy with what I have.

Fast enough quad-core proc, 8 gb ram, 24" monitor, xmonad on ubuntu.

Will probably end up with another monitor here soon, just haven't decided if I should get another 24 or something smaller that I can run vertically.

I have been using laptops ever since the Pentium 1 days (it was a 133Mhz Thinkpad 310 ED). I have had a few desktops as secondary computers, but having my computer with me has been a way of life for over a decade. That is changing some now that I have an iPad.