Ten Reasons You Still Need A Desktop Or Laptop
While most daily activity has gone towards smaller mobile screens, there are still a few tasks that require your old standby desktop or laptop.
In the age of apps and chatbots, it’s tempting to assume that a mobile device can do anything a desktop computer can. After all, third-world countries bypassed the PC-and-modem stage entirely, going straight onto mobile phones and cellular networks. The average American has over 25 apps installed on their mobile, while tablets are lightweight and handbag-sized they don’t offer screens large enough to display the latest binge-watch boxed set in comfort.
Desktop Benefits
However, before you format your trusty old tower’s hard drive and put it out for recycling, remember that desktops and laptops are still invaluable tools. There are numerous things they can do that a portable device would struggle with:
#1. Multitasking
It’s true that packages like Slack, Excel and Photoshop can be used on a tablet, but only one at a time. Switching between apps or webpages is clunky, split-screens are often unusably small, and even copying-and-pasting can be hard.
#2. Editing
Processes like video editing and graphic design are hugely resource-hungry, demanding large screens and masses of RAM. Plus, external peripherals like mice and trackpads are essential. A ten-inch touchscreen won’t be good for C++ programming.
#3. Website Design
It’s one thing making a website mobile optimized, but designing it on a smartphone won’t produce a site that looks good in a web browser. Graphical content that looks clear on a large screen can be scaled down, but not vice versa.
#4. Word Processing
The 19th century invention of the angled keyboard was a seminal moment in human history. Its touch-sensitive mobile descendants aren’t practical for hours of typing, plus they occupy a large percentage of an already modest screen.
#5. Constant Use
Building on the last point, an ergonomic chair and monitor can support a full day’s desktop usage without fatigue. Laptop keyboards and screens are too close together, while tablet users adopt strange postures – both impractical for long spells.
#6. Peripherals
Use a printer regularly? Still run software on CD or DVD-ROMs? Need an Ethernet web connection or USB data backups? Phone and tablet peripherals run via wifi or Bluetooth, which are slower and less reliable than hardwired accessories.
#7. Gaming
Smartphones are fine for a bit of Plants vs Zombies, but if your taste is more Guild Wars or Battlefield 1, the dedicated graphics processors and RAM chips of a high-end desktop or laptop will be crucial. Hardwired internet connections also help.
#8. File Storage
While modern tablets can offer anything from 8 to 128GB of storage, 1TB hard drives are commonplace in desktop computers. Even laptops offer vastly more storage – great for storing archived data, digital media and much more besides.
#9. Business Management
Ask a wedding photographer or antique furniture retailer whether they could manage sales and accounts from a tablet, and they’ll probably laugh. Portable devices are great in meetings, but you couldn’t run a business on one. Although we’d be interested to discover people who do manage it all by smartphone. Let us know!
#10. Durability
Tablets are sealed-unit devices, which makes upgrades and repairs hard. Conversely, a desktop computer can be rebuilt or expanded with new hardware. Greater durability means fewer glitches, better value and more dependability.