Hi,

I was thinking about getting a new PC for developing some Linux based applications but I'm at two minds as to whether to a get a PC or laptop. My previous experience developing on laptops has been pretty painful to say the least; built in keyboards are generally quite difficult to use and if you don't have an external mouse then it gets extremely tedious :(

At the same time I wan't something that is portable and that I can take to work etc.

What setup do you have at home? and if you use a laptop are there any tricks to ease the pain of development?

Do you find it easier or more difficult?

Cheers.

Laptop. Never going back to desktop after my MacBook Pro. Perfect blend of performance and portability for me.

I used a laptop for several years. When I went back to desktop + 2 large monitors, it was like the world opening back up. Don't think I could ever go back to laptop.

If only there were some way to attach said monitors to a laptop! ;)

For the past couple years, I have used only a laptop for development, my beloved T60p. A touchpad is my favorite input device, by far; I rarely take my hands off of the keyboard, but having highly sensitive and precise cursor movement is like an extension of myself. Additionally, the portability is an immense factor. I program in 5 or 6 different places regularly, amongst everything else I do. I can turn idle time into productive time any time I want by changing window focus, rather than waiting to go home. I happily forego external monitors for a built-in one with a decent resolution (my 1400x1050 is the biggest I've had, other than my TV), and fast peripheral devices.