Do You Still Use Computers At Home?

May 6, 2002
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With the advancements in smart phones and tablets are computers becoming obsolete in the home? Of course you may still need a computer for business or school purposes, but how many people actually use them to do things like Facebook or post on here? I occasionally will get out my old laptop for helping the kids with school projects, but that is about it. I think it is about 6 years old and has seen better days, but I don't know if I will buy another one when it goes out. I did tell my son that if he goes to college I would buy him a Surface Pro.
 

Ron Mehico

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Jan 4, 2008
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Not at home but use my laptop at work quite a bit. Can do majority of home stuff on phone or tablet, really only actually need the laptop maybe 5 times a year at home.
 
Apr 24, 2009
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I have a Samsung tablet with 10" screen which I like, but I prefer a laptop. Also have a Kindle which works really good, but the print is so small I don't use it unless the other devices are tied up.

I may start leaving the tablet outside at night, I saw that Samsung recalled about 2 million washers for catching on fire. Can tablets and TV's be far behind?
 

Hank Camacho

Well-known member
May 7, 2002
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Typing is much more efficient and faster on a laptop.

Yup. And I like the tactile precision of using a laptop or mouse. Touchscreens always feel "squishy" to me and I hate whenever an inadvertent move screws with the screen, opens a new app, etc.

Also, I touching hate "apps". Hate them.
 

joeyrupption

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Jun 5, 2007
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I like Steve Jobs' prophetic "cars and trucks" analogy for tablets/smartphone and desktops/laptops.

I use my phablet phone for 95% of my computing needs at home, but if I have a special project that needs some more utility (like a truck), I use a desktop. I probably use my desktop for 8 hours a month at this point.

 
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GYERater

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Jul 19, 2012
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Still prefer a laptop over anything else, had a desktop growing up but have never really owned one in my adult life. Use my smartphone at home if I just want to look something up really quick, but if I plan on being on the internet for any length of time I will be on a laptop.
 

BlueVelvetFog

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Apr 12, 2016
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Seriously? I am much faster on the desk top. Laptops for me are still not large enough, hands too big.
 
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dgtatu01

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I use a laptop to log into work from time to time. I never use a tablet at all.
 

kentucky_wildcat_#1

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I have a desk top, tablet and smart phone. I don't use the tablet at all and will not waste another dime buying one. I don't enjoy using a tablet at all. If I only had a tablet to use, I wouldn't spend as much time on the net as I do. I would much rather use the desk top over a tablet or even lap top. If I'm posting on this site, I'm always using the smart phone. Its just quicker for me to scan all the threads.
 

Chuckinden

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Desktop here and I don't plan on changing until they quit making them.
THIS^^^ I have a laptop, Ipad, etc., but I prefer working on my desktop at home. I just bought a new IMac desktop for home and don't like it. Maybe too advanced for me with all the passwords you have to fool with for Apple ID, Keychain, ICloud, etc., but that's another story.
 
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Free_Salato_Blue

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Graphics, much easier to use programs like photoshop on a PC than a tablet.
Easier to deal with spread sheets.
I like the tactile feel of a real keyboard compared to a touchscreen.
Need more RAM, just snap a stick in. IMO the life of a PC can be extended far more than a tablet, with minimal dough and knowledge.
Plus non-work related programs.
 
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Hank Camacho

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May 7, 2002
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Frankly, when it comes to electronics, I just want to make sure I'm always on the opposite side of whatever cyber-punk craziness Joey Rupption is into these days.
 
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UK 82

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Feb 27, 2015
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Desktops are great for FLAC and hi-res files when it comes to music and I have thousands for my whole house system. Basically a jukebox.
 

CrittendenWildcat

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Nov 28, 2003
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  • I have a desktop in my basement. Used to be my go-to for years, but I haven't used it more than a couple times in the last year.
  • I have an HTPC that I built that resides in my entertainment center, under my TV. I use it to as a stand-alone for watching videos, playing music, playing video games, and browsing the internet at times, but it is also a Plex server/DLNA Server to stream music/videos to phones/tablets/smart TV's. It's also an FTP server for my IPcam's, and I can remotely access the desktop when necessary to grab a file or make changes to my network.
  • 17" Laptop. Sits on the armrest of my sectional, and when I'm home it is my go-to. I online shop way too much. 6 years old now, but I dropped an SSD in it about 2 years back and it is still extremely capable.
  • 10"Windows tablet/2-in-1: Sits at my bedside on the nightstand, from time to time I will use it to browse in bed. Somewhat slow.
  • Nexus 6. My cell phone, use it on the go for whatever I need it for, it's a consumption device that can be used in a pinch for something productive (though it kills my soul whenever I do because it is always much more time consuming than my laptop or even my tablet.
  • Honorable Mention: Raspberry Pi and a quad-core TV Box.
 

-LEK-

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  • I have a desktop in my basement. Used to be my go-to for years, but I haven't used it more than a couple times in the last year.
  • I have an HTPC that I built that resides in my entertainment center, under my TV. I use it to as a stand-alone for watching videos, playing music, playing video games, and browsing the internet at times, but it is also a Plex server/DLNA Server to stream music/videos to phones/tablets/smart TV's. It's also an FTP server for my IPcam's, and I can remotely access the desktop when necessary to grab a file or make changes to my network.
  • 17" Laptop. Sits on the armrest of my sectional, and when I'm home it is my go-to. I online shop way too much. 6 years old now, but I dropped an SSD in it about 2 years back and it is still extremely capable.
  • 10"Windows tablet/2-in-1: Sits at my bedside on the nightstand, from time to time I will use it to browse in bed. Somewhat slow.
  • Nexus 6. My cell phone, use it on the go for whatever I need it for, it's a consumption device that can be used in a pinch for something productive (though it kills my soul whenever I do because it is always much more time consuming than my laptop or even my tablet.
  • Honorable Mention: Raspberry Pi and a quad-core TV Box.
I have a very similar set up, but I use my desktop almost daily. I built myself (not hard). Gaming on one mointor (if time), watch movies, tv, games, shop, work, etc on the other. (I just took out the 3rd monitor). Ipad, Galaxy tab, roku, firestick, and chromecast, 3 iphones, 2 laptops.
 
May 10, 2002
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would be interesting to know age as well. Believe Gen Xers and Y's would prefer desktop/laptop. Millenials - tablets and phones.

I do a fair amount of actual work at home so still have my trusty imac desktop. But also use macbook for school, tablet for porn and phone for everthing else.
 
Mar 23, 2012
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laptop. I have a tablet, but I only use that for reading and when I'm traveling and just want to do basic internet browsing on the road. Otherwise I'd much rather just use a computer, much more efficient.
 

Crushgroove

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Oct 11, 2014
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Have to have desktop power at home for AutoCAD, Inventor and STAAD.Pro.

I like a tablet for playing pool on the *******.
 

Rex Kwon Do

Active member
Oct 15, 2005
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Desktop at work, laptop at home for work, phone for most browsing. No need for a tablet, basically the kids just play with it. No real point when your phone does the same thing and has your communication on it. May change that when my company switches to Quickbooks Online, tablet with LTE would be pretty handy on the road at that point.

*** Tangent for small biz folk....anyone switched to QB Online from the desktop version? QB says our file is too big to transfer to online, so basically we'd be nuking and starting over from scratch which is intimidating, frankly.
 

joeyrupption

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Jun 5, 2007
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Graphics, much easier to use programs like photoshop on a PC than a tablet.
Easier to deal with spread sheets.
I like the tactile feel of a real keyboard compared to a touchscreen.
Need more RAM, just snap a stick in. IMO the life of a PC can be extended far more than a tablet, with minimal dough and knowledge.
Plus non-work related programs.
How incrementally do you need to upgrade the same PC?