2 Questions

I will be getting a new computer near the summer. Its my choice if I would rather want a desktop computer or a laptop. Which one would you choose and why...


My second question is...

Do you guys have any suggestions on good hosting sites for websites etc. I'm not talking about the free ones like angelfire. I would like to know some quality and reliable hosting sites...


Thanks for your help,

Dave

For hosting I really like http://www.ipowerweb.com They're fairly cheap and very reliable!

As for your new computer, you really have to consider what you're going to use it for. I had to make the same decision about a year ago and I settled on a desktop because I was interested in learning more about hardware. I got to build it exactly how I wanted it, and I learned a lot on the way.

But like I said, it's all about what you want to do with it. Do you think that you'll be traveling a lot and will want to take it with you? Just think on it.

We'll I'm big into gfx and designing websites along w/ my friend PluTunium from school. Yes he goes to my school. So I would probably have quite a few programs on it.

I think that it would probably be best to go with a desktop if you're going to be doing graphics design.

Oh, and as for the hosting, I forgot to mention UNFLUX! Apparently he has some good deals, so you should PM him about it.

thanks for the info, anybody else have answers...

I use http://www.myprohost.com for hosting. Godaddy.com for domain names. Neither has let me down yet.

http://www.ozzu.com/hosting-forum/where-are-you-hosted-t19032.html has some good tips for hosting. Our very own unflux also offers hosting, you could PM him and tell him what your looking for and he could give you a good price

What i recommend is you locate a host nearest to your geographical location as i'am also in the same profession as yours for past 3 years.

my recommendations

I'm lucky to have both (a desktop and a laptop).

If you get a laptop, get a high quality brand like IBM if you want to take it everywhere you go. Ok i'll be honest. this is my thrid laptop. the first one, a (second hand) Acer, lasted about 18 months. The second one, a sony, lasted about 3 days short of a year. My (second hand) IBM has been running smotthly for almost 2 years now, and has taken just as much of a beating as the other two put together. I here dell are good on the not-breaking-easily department aswell, but IBM are running a couple of specials at the moment.

laptops are a pain if you want to upgrade. If you buy a certain laptop there are very few options you can change. often you can't take out the CD/DVD/CDRW drive and sometimes you can't even replace the hard disk without taking the entire thing to tiny little pieces. And don't even dream about upgrading the processor or motherboard.

secondly, you buy a laptop, there is only one company you can get to fix it when it breaks: the company you bought it from. Often these guys and there one or two authorised service centers are the only ones doing what they do, and therefore charge VERY high prices. Whereas if you want to get a desktop fixed, all desktops are pretty much the same so there is a lot more competition in the repair market.

thridly you pay a price premium to have all those parts packed into a smaller space, and also the cooling systems in laptops are more expensive and therefore bump the price up even more.

The only real disadvantage to a desktop that i can think of is you can't take it with you as easily as you can with a laptop.

Ok next on the questions-you-asked list: Hosting. I am with yrhost ( http://yrhost.com/ ). They are the cheapest I have found, and they offer some great plans and their servers are very fast and reliable. They Have NEVER been down while I have had my account with them.

Hope someome finds some of this useful at some point in time because it took me ages to write it.

If they're paying, I'd go for the laptop

Even for graphics design, like Geekette says, you can always hook it up to an external monitor & mouse for when you're at home. A 19" monitor that does 1600x1200 you can pick up for under $150 these days.

I agree with what rjstephens says about going with a good brand, but I'd take a Sony VAIO over an IBM any day.

well my new sony lasted just under 12 months. While my second hand acer lasted over 18 months, and my second hand IBM has lasted over two years and counting.

just telling you my experience.