My friend is getting a PowerBook in the next couple
of weeks and is debating whether to get a docking
station. This would hook up her laptop to her DSL
and HP printer, which are currently connected to an
eMac. The issues for debate ...

a) get a 15" laptop, a 19"-21" CRT, keyboard and mouse
with a docking station, or

b) get a 15" laptop, a 17" flat panel, keyboard, mouse
and docking station, or

c) get a 17" laptop, mouse and docking station.

[I happen to use setup "a" but with a Dell D600 at work
(it's my company's machine, my home machine is a Mac).]

With a small apartment in downtown Chicago, it isn't
worth the hassle of installing a wireless network plus
there is the issue of the printer.

If anyone is using any of the above setups, we would
appreciate your opinions on pros, cons and would you
do it again? Many thanks in advance,

gld

Gary L. Dare wrote:
> My friend is getting a PowerBook in the next couple
> of weeks and is debating whether to get a docking
> station. This would hook up her laptop to her DSL
> and HP printer, which are currently connected to an
> eMac. The issues for debate ...

If You don't mind - an alternative solution here
for printing and internet access get a wireless access point with print
server

as for the rest - if portability is the main idea forget about the 17 inch
PB, it's fat too big to carry around on an everyday basis, if it's not it
should be the best solution, instead of making a mess of her desktop.


Regards

Teq

On Thu, 3 Mar 2005, Gary L. Dare wrote:

Re 15/17/19/21: What kind of work does she do on it? Office suite?
Grahic production? In a small apt, a 19" crt is huge. IOW, how big a
screen does she *need*.

MK

Thanks for your question, Michael. The apartment isn't THAT small,
the living room area is generous enough for her to maintain an office
in one corner. A 19" monitor would already be the size of her eMac.
Weightwise, the 17" Apple is larger than my Dell D600 (my company's,
not my choice) but weightwise, hardly different.

gld

Gary L. Dare wrote:
> My friend is getting a PowerBook in the next couple
> of weeks and is debating whether to get a docking
> station.

Do you have a link for this docking station? I wasn't aware that there
was one for current powerbooks. I might be interested.

> a) get a 15" laptop, a 19"-21" CRT, keyboard and mouse
> with a docking station, or

Don't do this one. A CRT will just look horrid beside her sleek new
Powerbook, will be harder on the eyes than a TFT (unless it's a very
expensive one), has about the same viewable area as a 17" TFT, and takes
up a lot of desk space.

> b) get a 15" laptop, a 17" flat panel, keyboard, mouse
> and docking station, or

This is my recommendation. It's what I use, and I spend a *lot* of time
in front of it. I use the TFT as my main display, with the Powerbook
butted up against it as a secondary area. Working with two monitors is
something you don't know you're missing till you try it, and it makes a
lot of things much easier. Just think about the size of your real-world
desk, and how much harder it would be to get work done on a
2-foot-square table instead.

As I said, I'm not aware of any docking stations for these machines, but
I take my computer away from my desk every day and don't like to plug
too much stuff in and out. The minimum number you can realistically have
is three - power, video (to the external monitor) and USB (to everything
else). Networking is wireless. If your friend will be moving between her
desk and elsewhere often, I would suggest she buy a second power
adaptor. That way one can be set up at her desk and one can live in the
bag - to pack up and go just close the lid, unplug three cables and put
the machine in the bag. It doesn't sound like much, but not having to
unplug and coil up the power adaptor makes a big difference to me.

> c) get a 17" laptop, mouse and docking station.

Don't do this. For serious use you need a keyboard, and ideally a
separate monitor, for ergonomic reasons. Also, by not having the
external monitor you lose half the screen space you'd have with option
b. I can't really comment on the portability of the 17" without using
one, but it seems a bit large to me. The 15" is just right.

Go for b, definitely.

> With a small apartment in downtown Chicago, it isn't
> worth the hassle of installing a wireless network plus
> there is the issue of the printer.

I think wireless is another of those things that you don't appreciate
until you use it. I would definitely recommend getting a wireless router
for her DSL connection. Partly because it reduces wires at the desk (and
things to unplug) but mostly because of the freedom it offers you to get
away from the desk altogether. Especially with the Powerbooks'
instant-on ability, it's just so convenient to be able to pick it up,
open it, and use it. Having to go over to the desk and plug it in before
you can do certain things destroys that. Wireless routers are cheap (any
one will do) - if she can afford a Powerbook she can definitely afford
one of these.

As for the printer, there are two options. The first is to add a print
server to the network - it could be built into the router or a box that
attaches to the printer. The second option, and the one I use, is to
have everything (10 devices in my case) attached via a single USB hub
(and possibly others cascading from it). This won't add anything else to
be plugged in, as you're already planning to have an external keyboard
and hence need to plug in a USB cable anyway.

Pete

In article <d109ld$p7$1@wisteria.csv.warwick.ac.uk>, Pete Verdon
<news@verdonet.organisation.unitedkingdom.invali d> wrote:

> Gary L. Dare wrote:
> > My friend is getting a PowerBook in the next couple
> > of weeks and is debating whether to get a docking
> > station.
>
> Do you have a link for this docking station? I wasn't aware that there
> was one for current powerbooks. I might be interested.
> Pete

Try: <http://www.photo-control.com/bookendz/be03g415.htm>

Thanks, this is the way that we'll go ... either a 17" or 19"
flat panel (but not likely the 20" $inema from Apple).

By the way, the Powerbook is replacing an eMac and
my friend has commented that her 15" PowerBook TFT
display is "almost" the size of her 17" CRT on the eMac.

gld

Pete Verdon wrote

>
>> b) get a 15" laptop, a 17" flat panel, keyboard, mouse
>> and docking station, or
>
>
> This is my recommendation. It's what I use, and I spend a *lot* of
> time in front of it. I use the TFT as my main display, with the
> Powerbook butted up against it as a secondary area. Working with two
> monitors is something you don't know you're missing till you try it,
> and it makes a lot of things much easier. Just think about the size of
> your real-world desk, and how much harder it would be to get work done
> on a 2-foot-square table instead.
>