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S. siva Saravanan

Choose your own quiet spot.

I started using a desktop replacement laptop instead of my desktop at home some time last week. Quite a few people asked me about the experience, so here goes.

Moving the data from the desktop to the laptop proved to be a big challenge — there were too many documents, pictures, videos and software to be moved, and there were too many folders and settings to copy — but we had prepared.

We organised our files, segregating the work and personal files; renamed the files and folders intuitively to be scanned and identified quickly. We got a 160 GB portable drive to backup and copy into the new computer.

Still, moving day was terrifying: There was this nagging doubt if we’d actually copied all the files; We were losing this big wonderful solid desktop for what seemed, in comparison, wimpy; We didn’t install all the freeware applications we were using earlier and also forgot about the application handling and behaviour. So, there were some unexpected little moments of pure panic. And all the cables going around — for modem, sound, mouse and power — made such a mess, and seemed incongruous around the laptop.

Yes, we are getting a wireless router, so that’d be one cable less, and we threw away the UPS.

But over the week, it has been quite good: I can move the laptop around to be comfortable — work even in the living or dining room if it was quiet rather than be assailed with games or children’s DVD noise. We got a laptop with a backlit keyboard so it was great to work at night and in the early morning without disturbing others.

Yes, the premium you pay for a laptop is well worth it, especially when you get a choice of seven colours!

N. Nagaraj

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