Why have a lot of computers if I can get a laptop workstation?
On Fri, Nov 24, 2023 at 10:11 AM Darac Marjal <mailinglist@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:
- Testing
- 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.
Hi William,
Without any context, it's hard to answer. But there are some possibilities why you might have a lot of computers, even if you can get a laptop workstation:
* You might find that the laptop workstation doesn't have sufficient GPU capabilities for some of your tasks, or maybe you might want optical drives, or more storage. Therefore having a separate desktop might be suitable (you might find, however, that plugging these devices into a docking station work sufficiently well for you)
* You might find the laptop unergonomical. So, while you might be using the laptop for some tasks, you might find that keeping another computer handy is more comfortable.
* You mention a work environment, so you might find that you are not permitted to do all your work on the laptop. Certainly, most companies do not like employees doing work on their personal computers. It's better to supply the employee with a separate computer which might be backed up, joined to the domain, etc. The company might even supply multiple computers to ensure a separation of tasks.
* If you already have this "lot of computers", then perhaps you don't want to get rid of them. Perhaps you want to keep the old software/files on those computers, while starting afresh with your laptop.
* Depending on how we interpret your question, you might even find that having physically separate computers is necessary (For example, you might want a computer situated close to your customers, which you work remotely on).
Or, to put it another way, basically everything I already stated.
--
With kindest regards, William.
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