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The home computer as a cultural object is physically vanishing (2007)

contemporary-home-computing.org

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Re: The home computer as a cultural object is physically vanishing (2007)

#41

Post by mkl95 »

TchoBeer wrote: post #32
mkl95 wrote: post #27

My desktop computer -which doubles as my workstation- is going to be 10 years old soon. The replacements during these years make it a beast to this day, it beats a $5000 Macbook Pro into a pulp for a fraction of the price. I'm not considering ditching it for now.

is it as portable as a macbook pro?

Portability is not a problem, my employer provides me with a powerful laptop that I keep permanently. They are different tools that serve me in different situations.

Re: The home computer as a cultural object is physically vanishing (2007)

#42

Post by hawski »

TchoBeer wrote: post #32
mkl95 wrote: post #27

My desktop computer -which doubles as my workstation- is going to be 10 years old soon. The replacements during these years make it a beast to this day, it beats a $5000 Macbook Pro into a pulp for a fraction of the price. I'm not considering ditching it for now.

is it as portable as a macbook pro?

I have a Macbook Pro (though 15") and a PC, but also a ridiculously underpowered Chromebook with a crappy 11" 1366x768 screen. Lately I find myself when I'm on the run in the city to grab the Chromebook and ssh to my desktop (I've got Zerotier set up). This is my ultimate portable duo. It could be better, but it is lightweight, battery runs full day and I have all power I need. Then when I get back I have it even better with less latency.

Re: The home computer as a cultural object is physically vanishing (2007)

#43

Post by baconshirt »

bitwize wrote: post #37
savant_penguin wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mostly any pc you build with much less than $5k will beat a $5k MacBook pro

When the M2 Mac Pro drops, the tables will turn: no PC will even nearly match it.

Cute

Re: The home computer as a cultural object is physically vanishing (2007)

#44

Post by TedDoesntTalk »

bitwize wrote: post #37
savant_penguin wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mostly any pc you build with much less than $5k will beat a $5k MacBook pro

When the M2 Mac Pro drops, the tables will turn: no PC will even nearly match it.

I don’t see how that is possible. Desktop PCs have almost unlimited space — cases can be measured in cubic feet. MacBooks are always space constrained because of their case size and weight minimizing, so there is an inherent disadvantage in the size of components like graphics boards. And a size disadvantage means fewer transistors and less cooling.

Re: The home computer as a cultural object is physically vanishing (2007)

#45

Post by dlevine »

I recently rebuilt my gaming PC with a Ryzen 5000-series. Surprisingly, it has become my main work PC, and I haven't used it much for gaming. It's faster than my i9 Macbook pro, and another benefit is that I can only work when I'm sitting at my desk. With a laptop, I can do work pretty much anywhere. Which is a double-edged sword.

Re: The home computer as a cultural object is physically vanishing (2007)

#46

Post by zten »

mkl95 wrote: post #33
savant_penguin wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mostly any pc you build with much less than $5k will beat a $5k MacBook pro

In my experience, it beats mid to high tier iMacs as well. Those things get clunky for no reason.

iMacs are usually laptops in all but name. To hit the same thinness with a giant heat-producing screen, most of the parts are their mobile equivalents.

Edit: on slightly closer inspection, this isn't true for the 27" models!

Re: The home computer as a cultural object is physically vanishing (2007)

#47

Post by TedDoesntTalk »

hawski wrote: post #42
TchoBeer wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

is it as portable as a macbook pro?

I have a Macbook Pro (though 15") and a PC, but also a ridiculously underpowered Chromebook with a crappy 11" 1366x768 screen. Lately I find myself when I'm on the run in the city to grab the Chromebook and ssh to my desktop (I've got Zerotier set up). This is my ultimate portable duo. It could be better, but it is lightweight, battery runs full day and I have all power I need. Then when I get back I have it even bet…

What’s old is new again! This is how mainframe terminals worked.

Re: The home computer as a cultural object is physically vanishing (2007)

#49

Post by munk-a »

ofrzeta wrote: post #39

There's nothing better than a huge display with high resolution, keyboard and mouse. The computer might be in a separate chassis or a laptop or whatever but a huge display and a mouse are indispensable.

Honestly, I personally love the aesthetic of big whirring fans and blinking lights. If you offered me an M1 MacBook Pro but it would be buried in a 7 foot tall cupboard plastered in lights and fans that occasionally, randomly, sounded like a jet engine taking off... I would be in heaven.

Re: The home computer as a cultural object is physically vanishing (2007)

#50

Post by rossdavidh »

My 15-year old daughter just recently got her first desktop. Why? Well, because instead of just consuming (which she does on her phone) or doing homework (chromebook), she wanted to do video editing, and also drawing using a Wacom tablet. She found that the non-desktop options were just not that great.

Had it been a passing fancy, no doubt she would have done without the desktop, but it wasn't, so she got a tricked out desktop (intended for gamers, I think) and now has the most powerful computer in the house. She still uses her phone and (when in school) her Chromebook, but when she's in creator (not consumer) mode, she uses her desktop.

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