On Sun, 26 Nov 2023 07:38:36 -0600 William Torrez Corea <willitc9...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Fri, Nov 24, 2023 at 10:11 AM Darac Marjal > <mailingl...@darac.org.uk> wrote: > > > > > On 23/11/2023 04:34, William Torrez Corea wrote: > > > > Why the people use two desktops and one laptop? > > What is the purpose? > > > > I could use a main laptop with Debian for software development > > (write code) and the other two desktop: > > > > 1. Testing > > 2. Server > > > > Without any context, it's hard to answer. But there are some > > possibilities: > > > > * Regardless of any other factor, desktops are bigger than laptops, > > so there is room for more hard drives, optical drives, more PCI > > cards etc. Therefore, someone might use a desktop computer for > > copying optical disks (e.g. two optical drives in the desktop) or > > they might use it for gaming (e.g. a large GPU in the desktop) > > > > * Typically a laptop is smaller, quieter and more energy efficient > > than a desktop. Someone might prefer to use the laptop for general > > office-type work (browsing the web, reading emails etc), while > > reserving the desktops for occasional use (e.g. a gaming night). > > > > * You mention a work environment, so there could be contractual > > reasons for maintaining physically separate computers. The > > computers could be at different classification levels; some of the > > computers could belong to a customer; some of the computers could > > have a very particular specification which virtualisation can't > > represent. > > > > * There could also be an aspect of hand-me-downs. If the three > > computers are significantly different in age, perhaps the user has > > upgraded their "workstation" over time, but continued to maintain > > their existing computers alongside. > > > > * Depending on how we interpret your question, there may even be the > > possibility that the computers are physically separated. A user > > might have one desktop in the office, a second desktop in "the > > lab", while also having a laptop for when they are working from > > home / on a client site / on the train. > > > > Why have a lot of computers if I can get a laptop workstation? As stated above, it depends on what you need a computer for. Typically, you will pay a lot more to get a laptop with the power of even a cheap desktop and you'll be buying a decently sized monitor, keyboard and mouse to use with the laptop. If you're only doing basic web browsing and email and don't need a big screen, you can do that with a mobile phone. You'll also need to plug and unplug these things if you take the laptop out. That's not trivial, many domestic grade connectors are only rated for a limited number of pluggings, sometimes as little as fifty. If nothing else, the spring parts of the connectors weaken. It's also inconvenient. Two or more computers let you continue working if one fails, and allows you to find out how to fix it from the Internet. If you're trying out networking features, such as Internet sharing, you'll need more than one computer. As it happens, I needed to do that about a month ago. Plenty of people with well-defined computing needs do just have a laptop and no desktop machine. I know several. But people using this mailing list/newsgroup tend to have more varied needs, and may not be the best people to ask about this. -- Joe
