If you had the option to select a laptop for software development, and the options where between something portable like a very capable ultralight laptop, or a much bigger, and much powerful laptop, which one would you choose?
The specific models aren’t important really, as you might be reading this post many months or perhaps many years after and so the particular laptop models today, would be irrelevant in the near future. What’s important here is the idea of getting a much lighter but capable laptop for software development instead of getting a much more powerful laptop, with the drawback of being much more prominent, heavier and less battery efficient.
Why the need for portability?
As a software engineer working remotely 100% of the time AND someone who likes to travel and visit coffee shops, portability is something I’ve always appreciated when it comes to my gear. However, as I continue to get more involved with larger projects, the ultralight laptops I’ve used so far aren’t cutting it anymore. In general, laptops are much lighter and much powerful than ever before, but if you want or need a laptop with at least 32GB of RAM and a Quad processor, then you’ll have to compromise and get a bigger laptop.
Today, more and more people can work remotely, and many of them are taking it a step forward by traveling around the country or internationally and getting work done while on the road. I’ve done this a couple of times and while it isn’t perfect when it comes to communication with your team due to time zone changes, etc. it works well for many people as long as expectations regarding time and availability are well-defined between the members in the team.
Ricardo Sanchez 