Laptop/destop/tablet?

[kimh]

I am looking into getting a new computer. Mainly for all my photo stuff. I don't think my husband appreciates the time and space my hobby (ummm obsession;)) is taking on our present one.
I have been using a laptop at work and seems awkward but it sure would be nice to sit on my backporch and work. Is it just a matter of personal preference? Any advantage or disadvantage with working with a laptop? I am not very computer suave.
Also I am trying to get the hang of a tablet. Seems awkward but think if I get used to it will like it in the long run. Any suggestions there? Those side buttons seem to mess me up!
Thanks, kim

[Wendy]

Hi Kim ...

I use both a desktop and a laptop but find that its difficult to edit images properly on a laptop due to the screen. If you tilt the screen one way the images look too light, the other way and they look too dark ... so I find it hard to know which is correct.

Because of that I do all my editing using the desktop and only use the laptop for when we are away from home .. my husband uses it for all sorts of other things but as he doesn't do images editing the screen issue doesn't bother him :)

Hopefully someone else will be able to help about the tablet ... I do have one but just can't get the hang of using it so I use the mouse for everything :) :)


Wendy

[Bayla]

Kim,

The only way to get used to the tablet IMHO is to put the mouse out of reach and only use the tablet for maybe a week! Someone on this forum gave me that advixce (can't remember who) and I'm glad I listened to them. The tablet feels strange at first but eventually you get used to it :)

Bayla

[Wendy]

Bayla ...

Oh my ... maybe that was where I went wrong :o :o

Wendy

[willpresley]

Wendy - you are so accomplished with the mouse that another method doesn't seem to work for you.

[Wendy]

Hi Will ...

I think that I have now given up trying to use the tablet ... still I hang on to it in the hope that Matt will do some classes on using a tablet.

That really would help :)

Wendy

[willpresley]

I too would like for more tutorials on using a tablet -- those would be fun and worthwhile.

[Bayla]

Wendy, Will,

Matt did say that there was one such course on the cards:

http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/forum/showpost.php?p=117346&postcount=13

Bayla

[willpresley]

So there is light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks for the info.

[Wendy]

Hi Bayla ...

I have my fingers crossed :)


Wendy

[kimh]

Thanks for the advice. I didn't think the laptop would be great for my needs except for being able to take it out to my porch.
Will try to get the hang of the tablet, I think.
kim

[george36]

Kim,

I, too, struggled with the tablet for about a year and didn't use it much. But about five months ago I decided to use it whenever possible. Since then I have found I can do much more easier with the tablet than the mouse. In fact, some of the cloning, healing brush and erasing techniques are almost impossible for me using the mouse. I would suggest that you buy a tablet and practice, practice, practice. You will get a feel for the pen quickly and, I hope, love it.

[dbmcclus]

I am an IT Analyst for a large corporation. We have desktops, laptops, and tablets. We have far more problems with the laptops and tablets as far as maintenance. They just give trouble. Screens go bad, keyboards stop working, ect.. If you drop it, it is history!

IMHO, a desktop will give you the most for your money and will be much more realible. To get a comparable laptop with features of a desktop, you will pay almost twice the money.

Dennis

[mom to 4]

Ah, Dennis, ya just burst my bubble! I was also thinking how nice it would be to sit out on the deck and work and not have to be inside all the time!!!! But with my luck, I would stand up, drop it on the deck and that would be that!

[dbmcclus]

Colleen,

There are durable laptops and tablets, but they are expensive. Our engineers use them in the field. One of the more popular brands , both laptop and tablet is the Panasonic Toughbook.

The "home" versions are nice, but can be a problem if dropped, depending on how they land, such as when the screen is open, it can break. Sorry to burst your bubble. If you want portablity, then go for it, just be careful.

Dennis

[jstorck]

Kim,

While I am new to Elements and the forums, I have been using a laptop for graphics for 5 years. While I am not as accomplished as many in these forums (there is some beautiful work shown here), I have little trouble using a laptop to meet my needs. The key is to have a laptop and PC with the same programs installed. Always save the original files on the laptop to be finalized on the PC. I have had 2 laptops in 5 years and no problems dropping or anything else. I have been completely satisfied with Compaq laptops. My first laptop lasted 4 years. I've had this one since December and it works fine.

I travel alot for work and spend evenings on the laptop developing graphics.
I have Flash files on websites that I have 40-50 hrs in graphics and scripting.
( See the website links below. Nearly all of the graphics were done on a laptop and finaled on a PC before loading) A PC would not allow me the time (or aches and pains) to efficiently complete the projects. I nearly always go to the PC for final adjustments to colors or effects.

Laptops provide mobility which provides time. Yes, it is really nice setting on the deck, setting in the easy chair watching a football game, or laying in bed and working on your projects. But color and effect interpretation is limited. A laptop should have the most RAM and best graphics card you can afford.

PC's provide much better color and effect clarity, and probably have more RAM and better graphics cards. I prefer the CRT by far for final color and effect editing. Not a flat screen which has the same tendencies as laptop screens.

The worst problem with a laptop is your significant other. You will be spending much more time on the laptop and that sometimes generates comments reguarding where you're spending your time. Fortunately I have a beautiful understanding wife!

[kimi_boo]

We have both but I tend to work only on my laptop. I haul it to the kitchen when hubby is cooking. (yes, hubby cooks) Sit in the bed and work on a challenge while watching TV. When I try and go back to the desktop. I just don't like it. It works for me. :)

I also take it back and forth to the office. I would never give it up.

[Wendy]

Kimi ...

Sounds like you love that laptop :D :D

Wendy

[kimi_boo]

:) Wendy, I guess I do. If someone took it... it would be like loosing one of my best friends. It's a Dell. Wore the first one out. I really don't have a screen issue. You know the poor thing probably deserves a name. :cool:

[Wendy]

Kimi ...

You mean it hasn't got one :eek: :)

Wendy

[twoaussies]

You mean someone else has named their computer. Mine is "Einstein" because it knows so much more than I do!!! Jean

[Wendy]

Jean ...

Oh I like that !!! :)

Wendy

[Bayla]

Jean,

Mine wouldn't have to be an Einstein to know much more than me:)

Bayla

[twoaussies]

Bayla: Anyone with a gallery like yours knows a lot. Is Australian bottlebrush grown a lot in the U.K.? It is here in Florida. Loved that arrangement. Jean

[Bayla]

Jean,

You are too kind:o Anything that I produced in my gallery has been through painstakingly asking a zillion and one questions and trying things out again and again and again. I still have a very long way to go!

I've never seen a Bottlebrush anywhere else in the UK! Certainly not in Manchester where I live. As I mentioned on the summer flowers thread, it took us a few years & a letter to the Royal Horticultural Society to identify it! I just wished it lasted longer once it flowered. Does it do so in it's natural habitat?

Bayla

[twoaussies]

Hi Bayla: There are several types of Bottlebrush - upright and weeping. We have perhaps a dozen trees in our place in Florida and they seem to bloom for months on end. I dont remember how long they lasted in Australia (it is a long time since I lived there). I would have thought England too cold for the plant.
They are the absolute favourite snack for the lorikeets at the zoo where I volunteer.

[Bayla]

Well, the extremely hot and humid weather we have been having certainly didn't extend the flowering season this year:( Also I've noticed it doesn't flower every year.

Bayla

[jstorck]

Many bottle brushes in California. We have a couple at our place. They are the most beautiful of all at the peak of their bloom. HUGE bee magnats.

[kimh]

I had the most beautiful, huge bottle brush----made a "mention" of it shedding in the pool. By the time I got home from work my husband and a neighbor had it cut to the ground:eek: . Since when does he listen to me:confused: !! My daughter and I were crushed..humming birds etc. ...gone. They grow like crazy here in N. Fla.
Thanks for the advice on the lap vs. desk issue...I still don't know!
kim

[NRiceDesigns]

Kim - once you get the hang of the pen & tablet, you'll never pick up a mouse again. Bayla is right... put away your mouse for a week & you'll never get it out again.:D

[kimh]

I will give it a try and let you know.
Thanks for the input.
kim