Hey,

I just bought a new notebook and I sometimes wonder where to put it, and if to put it upright or just close it and put it somewhere into a shelf.
I don't know... What do you do? I need my desk for my work which generally implies no computer, just papers etc. and the computer work only happens on the sideline; so I need to be able to put it away. I wonder though if what I do is most practical. And what is most reasonable anyway? Is it good to put it into a bag for a long time, or shouldn't it be rather exposed to the 'air' of the room, rather?

What do you think? What do you do?

Greetings!
Pete

[Spheric Harlot]

You post the weirdest threads, you know that?

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

You post the weirdest threads, you know that?

How come? Life is changing, discussion needed (moving, parents buying new TV set, upgrading iMac; I bought a new notebook and rethink this and that, so...)...
Don't be put off by Mr. Spheric Harlot, ladies and gentlemen, he's doing his best, you see - he just has no notebook, so he has to add something else to the debate!

[cgc]

I leave mine on my desk with the lid open. Kind of funny it seems people on MacNN can't make any decisions for themselves and must ask or advice for every little thing in life nowadays.

[shifuimam]

I have a cart from IKEA where I store all of my laptops...all eight of them. It allows me to make sure they're always charged and somewhere that the dogs and cats can't get to.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by cgc 

I leave mine on my desk with the lid open. Kind of funny it seems people on MacNN can't make any decisions for themselves and must ask or advice for every little thing in life nowadays.

Thank you.

I'm not alone, it seems.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by PeterParker 

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

You post the weirdest threads, you know that?

How come? Life is changing, discussion needed (moving, parents buying new TV set, upgrading iMac; I bought a new notebook and rethink this and that, so...)...
Don't be put off by Mr. Spheric Harlot, ladies and gentlemen, he's doing his best, you see - he just has no notebook, so he has to add something else to the debate!

Where do you keep your pencils and paper when not in use? Did you post on AccountantsNN to get help figuring out a solution?

[chabig]

I'm not sure whether I should align the magnetic poles of my hard drive parallel or perpendicular to the Earth's field. Will one orientation cause my hard drive to wear out faster?

[turtle777]

-t

[Wiskedjak]

Mine goes on the bookshelf, beside the iPad.

[gooser]

peter, do yourself a favor. when you're about to spread papers all over your desk just pick up the notebook and set it on a bed in another room. you will not be tempted to pick it back up until you've finished what needs to be done. it doesn't make any difference whether the bed has been made.

[P]

There was a piece on Ars a while back on how to sew a pocket by the side of your desk to put the laptop in. It appears that you are not the only one to think carefully about these things.

[Waragainstsleep]

Some very welcoming and encouraging comments on this thread. And we wonder why new people don't stick around.

I for one much prefer this sort of question to the far more common "I can't decide between high-end Mac X and big-end Mac Y" which I invariably translate into "I just want to show a bunch of strangers that I have enough money to buy one of theses really high end Macs to surf porn and write my Word docs with"

Personally I use my laptop far too much so the rare times it isn't sat open beside me on the sofa or coffee table or bed, its sleeping on the bedroom window sill or in my bag.
I have another laptop which lives permanently on my coffee table (might move it soon) and is used as a torrent client. I have to keep the lid at the correct angle or the cat will sit on it for warmth in the winter. It doesn't like that (the laptop, not the cat obviously).

Generally I'd say that there is no issue storing them on end (my torrent laptop spent several months running propped on its end under my bed) though my MBP hard drive does make a weird noise when its perpendicular to its usual usage orientation.

[ghporter]

At one time, it was widely believed (perhaps accurately) that a hard drive that had been formatted while flat on a surface would not work (or not as well) if installed on its side. I can see a LOT of reasons to be concerned about how a computer might be stored, and in what position. Fortunately, those reasons are pretty much moot nowadays. You can put your Macbook on its side, upside down, whatever position or orientation you would like. I tote my first gen MBP back and forth to work every day in a generic book bag, along with its power supply and a bunch of other things. I carry that bag back and forth between office or home and the car, and it sits in the car on the front seat, either flat or not. It cranks up every time.

I would suggest that you pay attention to where the machine is when liquids are involved, because liquids and computers in general, and laptops specifically, do not mix. Otherwise, when the computer is off or sleeping, you can move it around pretty much as you wish.

[P]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

At one time, it was widely believed (perhaps accurately) that a hard drive that had been formatted while flat on a surface would not work (or not as well) if installed on its side.

Right, I should have mentioned. The issue you're describing is actually not an issue any more because the drives recalibrate their servos on start to account for things like that. It is however still a requirement that drives be stored vertically or horizontally, +- some 10 degress, and not at a 45 degree angle. This is stated in the manual booklet when you buy one loose for upgrade - or at least it was last time I bought and internal HDD a few years back. I completely forgot about this, because in my mind, laptop implies SSD. Mea culpa.

[lpkmckenna]

I keep my laptop in the front room, on an end table next to my comfy chair. I can open the lid and idly surf the web while it's on the end table, or I can side it onto my lap to type or game.

[msuper69]

Yes. Those thread about helping decide on which Mac/whatever to buy are lame.
If you're not intelligent enough to make those decisions on your own by doing research, then perhaps you shouldn't be getting said device in the first place.

But this is ridiculous. Where do I put my notebook when I'm not using it?
Good grief.

[SierraDragon]

Have it in your choice of case and just store it wherever you usually store a paper notebook of similar size. Mine lives on a bookshelf with the other books.

[kenna]

It always travels with me upstairs after I work on it for 6 hours of an evening. I bring it upstairs as I'm worried that one day someone will have stolen it when I wake up

[charlituna]

Originally Posted by PeterParker 

Hey,
I just bought a new notebook and I sometimes wonder where to put it, and if to put it upright or just close it and put it somewhere into a shelf.
I don't know... What do you do? I need my desk for my work which generally implies no computer, just papers etc. and the computer work only happens on the sideline; so I need to be able to put it away. I wonder though if what I do is most practical. And what is most reasonable anyway? Is it good to put it into a bag for a long time, or shouldn't it be rather exposed to the 'air' of the room, rather?
What do you think? What do you do?
Greetings!
Pete

You sound a bit like my roommate. His desk is actually made to hold a computer so it has a slide out keyboard shelf. Ran an extra power adapter up the back and has that shelf set up to hold his laptop and his cell phone so they can charge and be out of the way. Something like that might be good for you

I use an iMac myself (video editor) but my desk has a monitor shelf which just enough clearance for me to do something similar with my iPad, iPhone and a couple of portable drives I use between my work and home studios.

Greetings. I am unable to delete my posts, and apparently you moderators are on some kind of a strike.

Therefore, I have removed the content of the original post by hand.

I am asking for this post to be deleted, since I don't seem to have the option to do that myself.