The World Is My Network

At risk of dating myself when one would ask “Base or Mobile?” it used to be they were referring to CB Radio.  Thinking about it thought social media has itself evolved through a CB-like stage even in it’s early beginnings when the Compuserve chatrooms were referred to as CB.

Of course in today’s context I’m talking about desktop or notebook form factors.  From time to time I get the itch to purchase a new desktop PC.  My current unit is essentially retired and was purchased almost 10 years ago.  The appeal being that you can get a ridiculous amount of computing power for very little money.

Good sense always seems to take hold of me just before I commit to such a purchase.  The reality is that most of my computing is done on-location, no matter where that location may be.  It could be at the corporate or home office.. or in a case like tonight where its a little too hot to work inside my office moves to the back yard by candlelight.  Of course it could also be a more eclectic location like a lounge, the car or coffee shop.  This is why I chose to remain mobile in my computing purchasing decisions at the moment.

Recently I went ultra mobile and purchased a netbook.  By today’s standards it’s computing ability is quite limited, but in reality has more than enough power for the vast majority of my work.  The only tasks that I cannot perform on it (well) involved streaming media or heavy photo manipulation for which I revert to my (near-desktop powered) full size laptop.  Of course at times the small screen and reduced size keyboard can be a hindrance but the costs of spare keyboards and large LCD flat screen monitors have come down so low that it’s really not hard to justify keeping several in different locations so I can simply “plug in” when I need to improve my productivity.

Not near a hotspot in your travels?   Fear not, most modern smartphones can be configured to operate as a mobile broadband device and tether to your laptop to connect you to the interwebs.   There are also devices that act as their own hotspot allowing you to connect several mobile devices to the net.  The price for this service is still somewhat on the high side if you’re on a tight budget but those prices are dropping rapidly.

The desktop PC isn’t obsolete yet.  If your needs demand it, there is no substitution for a full sized, full power machine.  Also households with younger children may want have a centrally located machine in the house as a means to easily peer over young users shoulders to make sure they are staying out of trouble.

Consider your usage carefully when picking out your next computer but certainly pay close attention to the mobile devices, especially if social networking is high on your list of activities.