What laptop/tablet do you prefer for remote working?

(Preface: web developer, mostly front-end + Drupal site-building)

Older Mac mini upgraded to solid state + 16G RAM for the longer-term desk location, 13 inch Air ('14) with an I7 + 8G RAM for mobile dev, Toshiba Chromebook 2 just for the hell of it. Pelican S100 Backpack in case I fall off the bike and need to write code while I’m in a ditch somewhere.

Not much I can add about the Air; everyone loves them and has written this topic to death. The Air was a good compromise for me; lots of power for code stuff + light enough to carry under my arm in a book case (I use one from Pad & Quill, looks like a leather-bound book instead of a laptop / theft target). The processor is faster than the mini I use as a desktop, so I could theoretically replace the mini with a monitor out cable and just leave the Air docked.

The Chromebook is worth looking at. You’d be really, really surprised at how much work you can get done on a Chromebook if it’s one of the reasonably nicer ones. Even programming using a cloud IDE wasn’t nearly as painful as I’d thought, the 1080p screen is nice, and typing is very comfortable (this is important!). $200 on a Woot sale is hard to beat. I’ve used it as my sole dev environment in Mexico, Chicago, San Fran, and London last year, and again in Goa last week. It kinda sucked for working on Drupal projects, but installing Ubuntu fixes that problem.

Chromebooks are also some of the easiest ways to get good laptop hardware that works with 'nix without too much pain. That $200 covers a painfully large % of what I use the Air for. As a backup laptop, it’s very hard to beat. You worry a lot less when you start carrying one of these around and leave your Macbook at home. Almost matches the Air on battery life, too. Both can do a day at the coffee shop without a charger if I have to.

I recently got a Lenovo idea pad. I don’t need anything with a lot of grunt and this is so lightweight I hardly notice it in my bag. Cost next to nothing too, so if it does get banged up or stolen, I’m not going to be too upset.

I wonder why nobody is using a new MacBook. I love it! Its’ weight is almost nothing, the performance is good for running full-stack development, the charger is pretty small too. I can totally recommend it. I was skeptical before getting it, but I’m very satisfied and do not regret. I’ve owned 2 MacBook Air’s and a MacBook Pro before (+ bunch of pc’s).

Writer (copy&academic) and kinda designer here. I mostly use word processing, or work in .AI and .PSD, or Wordpress from Chrome.

I had my beloved 15" retina MBP stolen 10 days before embarking on my first nomad trip (Thailand), so I desperately bought a used Air 13. It did the job well for almost 2 years, but I recently went back to the 15" rMBP (bought a US-smuggled used one with 5 loadcycles for dirt cheap in Tbilisi, Georgia). A no-brainer for me.
I think it’s the best computer ever for nomading. The point is you’ll be staring at a screen for many hours at a time, so it may well be a big and amazing screen. Also, a fast computer makes work motivating and pleasant, and you can easily run every conceivable OS with virtualization (I run WIN 10, Ubuntu & Win XP).

For those worried about weight, consider that we nomads don’t move around every day like backpackers do. My Air was 1.3 Kg, while the rMBP is ~2.2 Kg - a bottle of water more, essentially. IMO it’s worth it to endure a kg more on the occasional travel/commute rather than strain your eyes and motivation by using a smaller.

Also, for eventual theft/breakdowns, make sure you learn about the best classifieds ads websites wherever you are. Developing countries (Serbia and Georgia in my case) have great bargains to be found, since there’s incentive to “import” gray/black market electronics from the U.S. I paid $2000 for a maxed-out Nov-2015 rMBP in Tbilisi (515 Gb, AMD radeon GPU), which is insane! Just stash some cash for a new computer, and you’re good to go.
If you’re into design, though, you may want to avoid the dedicated graphics card, as it drains power like crazy. Go with the 15" base model and rock that Intel Iris.

Looks like majority MacBooks here, same here. 13 inch MacBook Air. Lightweight, great trackpad, It’s the 2011 version though, so it’s kind of old. Waiting for the new version to come out. I mostly do email, web surfing, youtube watching, but it can of course handle more.

Anyone use an iPad pro as their only computer?

Dear @Robert

It all depends on what you’re looking for. Do you want something budget friendly, something that can withstand a nuclear fallout or something that will make Andy Warhol clap his hands, due to its “transcendence”? If you answered the second option, such as your’s truly, then my goodness, I can’t believe no one brought up…HER…! No one has mentioned the Mother of all travel computers. The Cheddar to the cheese of travel tech. The unstoppable, unholy matrimony between digital life and reality, The Tyrannical, your luminary!!!, the Panasonic Tough Book (Preferably a CF-19).

You want something you can swap out old parts with new parts, as they come? Something you can use in sub-freezing temperatures. Something you could sit in the middle of the Sahara Desert with, while calling a chopper via your Iridium Go Sat-Fi connection and a fine glass of Chardonnay, something you can email from 100 feet under water (Yes, in the water), saying you are about to run out of oxygen? Well, @Robert and all of the notifies, allow me the luxury of introducing you to a gear list straight out hell itself. The demon love child from of Die Hard and James Bond flick meets Hurt Locker.

First things first. Get me some Ice-cream and a lounge chair, because this is going to get detailed. Go ahead and grab some velcro and super glue that can withstand the same temperatures as the laptop itself, meaning heat, water, and sub zero. Use the adhesive to apply the velcro to the back of your laptop screen (we’ll get to why we are doing this at a later point). Now that that’s all done, giving you a way to connect to the rest of the world (Iridium Go), being that busy man, or woman, that you are, you will most likely need some extra storage. May I act as your Lucius Fox and recommend a Silicon Amour product. Perhaps the A 85. It’s not only going to meet all of the same durability and environment “friendly” specs as the Tough Book, oh no, It goes above and beyond. It also has crush resistance, dust resistance, can be used on a Mac or PC, with much more attributes being brought to the table unmentioned.

But why stop there? Surely you’ll need a way to communicate with HQ, or the rest of your team via voice every now and then. Adding a Jabbra Steel Bluetooth headpiece to your arsenal will be more than enough to “get the message across”, rather it is just down the street or over oceans.

The last two “toys” I’d like, no LOVE, to bring up would be the Data Lock Sentry flash stick. This is by far NOT your average thumb drive you would give to your little shnookums as he/she goes off to college. This is something your commanding officer says "if you don’t deliver this message to the president within the next 48 hours…"
It doesn’t only come standard with the latest encryption key that would even stump the KGB, MI6, and the CIA, the company is also known for having the option of adding a self-destruct feature, to be built in upon request. The icing on the cake would be having a device as small as a phone, with the same feel and touch, that could access Skype through your Sat-Fi, since most companies now a’days that offer remote work, or as a distributed team, use such a service. Built by the same manufacturer as your laptop, and not even in production yet, the FZ-E1 would be your huckleberry.

Now that you’ve got all the great and latest gear, you will need a backpack to carry it all in, when traversing that rough terrain you’ve come to know oh so well. The Pelican Elite Series laptop backpacks don’t just have your back, they’ll take your heart at first sight. You can thank me later when you’re cruising on a freighter across the Indian ocean.

Oh yea, remember the whole velcro thing, feel free to slap it on the back of your Iridium Go, and your A85, and then mesh on the back of your laptop, have fun!

Your Gear Nut,

• Seth Warner

P.S. If Chuck Norris and Client Eastwood were to have a baby, and that baby chose to be a programmer, above is the gear it would take over the world with…

Mainly software development, management stuff and some occasional designing.

After switching to the Apple PowerBook G4 1.0 17" in 2003 I’ve been using Macs ever since (and a lot of Linux and flavours of Unix in vm’s and on servers). First larger laptops, from 17" to 15" to 13" and now 11". Don’t like the Quality Control of Apple these days, with the focus shift from prosumers to consumers it seems to be getting worse and worse, but still better than most other manufacturers. Did flirt with a Lenovo Thinkpad X220t (2012, really loved the special outdoor screen for working in direct sunlight) and a Dell XPS 13" (2014, really disliked the font rendering on Ubuntu).

Currently I use a MacBook Air 11" and love it. Although I’m hoping on a new Macbook Air release next week.

I have a bootable encrypted backup disk (USB+FireWire) with OS X and Ubuntu and my software/projects, just stick it into any Mac or PC and I’m ready to go (needed it 2 times when experiencing hardware failure in the last 11 years).

As for issues with the power adapter, I always bring a spare one. The 45W MagSafe 2 power adapter is quite small anyways.
As for display size, I can hook up to a larger screen most places I visit. For me it was worth trading in the screen size for extra portability: less size and weight.

Like @thisiscarlo, I use a Surface Pro, though mine’s a 2. The power combined with the portability, the option to use a stylus, is unmatched. Looking forward to Windows 10 and Universal Apps, as I now have a Lumia 1020 as my phone.

Macbook Pro Retina 15"

Is there really any other option? Hah, no.

I even run Visual Studio, SQL Server, SQL Management Studio, etc, when I need to. They run super fast with Parallels (faster than on my old Windows laptop). With coherence the windows (or linux) programs look just like mac apps. Wish I had made the switch sooner, no regrets.

Marketer on a MacBook Pro… really just for Abode CS.

Managed to work full-time on a Chromebook for about 6 months when I didn’t have any design work.

The Chromebook was manageable because it’s:

• so lightweight, so easy to travel with
• so cheap I’m not stressed about it being lost or stolen during my travels

Obviously, the Chromebook has a LOT of limitations, and most lines of work simply need a REAL computer. I was able to do everything through apps, miraculously. I figure there are a lot of MacBook users in this thread and I should let it be known that somewhere out there in the cosmos someone is managing their work on a $200 Chrome Browser.

Have brought my old faithful Macbook Pro, but before I left purchased an Air to migrate to, and will hand over the Pro to my partner to have his own device Love them both, but as someone else mentioned, the Pro is heavier and I prefer carting around the Air than the Pro. If you’re trying to stay light, the Air is great.

software developer (99% MS stack) here (seems common huh?)

currently use a macbook air 13" - light, all day battery life and lets me work without having to deal with some of window’s annoyances. i use parallels when i need to run windows or linux or another copy of os x. i’ve been working this way since 2006. couldn’t be happier.

i traveled with a 15" MBP and now it seems so porky compared to the 13".

I’ve been using my Macbook Pro Retina 15" for the two years of travel. I work primarily as a web developer but also spend quite a bit of time in Photoshop.

If I had to choose again, I’d probably go with a 13" MBP Retina instead for a few reasons:

1. I use carry-on luggage only, and my laptop currently consumes 20% of my total luggage
2. I don’t need such a big screen, especially when using the Retina screen
3. It’s easier to move around with a smaller laptop, and I’d be more inclined to work in a coffee shop or cafe

It really comes down to what sort of work you’ll be doing, how much power/performance you need, and what your budget is for the work.

People will have different opinions on Mac Vs Windows Vs Unix but ultimate that’s up to you. Personally, OS X suits me far better than Windows when it comes to the nature of my work, and I’m happy to pay the premium for (what I consider) a better device.

Developer here Bought new laptop last year, was keen to get the Lenovo X230 (had one at my old work and they’re pretty rugged and good battery life). They stopped making that model though.

Ended up going for a 13" Retina MBP and couldn’t be happier. Having a unix-based system makes working with everything other than .NET so much easier.

I’m a developer. I was offered a Mac and turned it down to get a Dell XPS 13. It was my choice for a few reasons:

1 - I hate all things apple and prefer Linux
2 - It is a significantly lower theft target
3 - If something goes bad on the road, I can get it fixed. Getting anything on a Mac fixed/replaced outside of the US or maybe Western Europe is either ridiculously expensive, exceedingly difficult, or both. For example, in the same week in Mexico, my power cord died and my friend’s mac power cord died. I went to Radio Shack and bought a new one for $12 and was up and running in an hour. He had to order one for $170 and wait 2 weeks to get it. He ended up just flying back to the US and getting one as it was faster. No. Thanks.

When it was up to me, I had a crappy netbook that cost $300 so I didn’t feel bad about beating it to hell (which is pretty much guaranteed to happen). But that doesn’t work for developing so I have to have something more powerful. I hate carrying something this expensive around.

I’m tied to Windows due to the potential for working for clients who use Windows applications (I’m a part time geo). I currently carry around a right brick, an old Toshiba, which I’m thinking of changing. I’ve already dumped the battery and dvd drive to save weight out of desperation. The main reason for thinking of changing though is laptop ergonomics. They’re rubbish.
So I’ve been thinking about this and really it’s an impossible mission to nail completely. The problem is that if you get something expensive then it’s something else to worry about. And it’s the Windows7/8 capability that really upps the price.

Now, I have a Windows VPS I got for cheap so I’m thinking I can use that. But it seems risky to rely on such connectivity…
And also I was thinking, I could get a tablet and separate keyboard to solve the ergonomics… rather than carry round this heavy laptop stand.

But here’s a tip. Have you noticed how cheap VGA monitors are these days? Less than €20 in some places. That’s cheap enough to buy, use for a few weeks and then dump when it’s time to leave. A dual monitor setup is a real luxury. If you haven’t got VGA out you can get a fairly small adapter for it.

edit I personally like the look of the SurfacePro3 but the screen I’d prefer to be just an inch bigger. I guess that’s where grabbing an old monitor could come in.
This is the most important piece of gear so it’s worth thinking about.

Just got the new Thinkpad X1 and deeply in love with it, only minor downsides are no Caps lock indicator light and only 8G RAM which make multiple VMs a bit of a no go. Other than that it’s a form factor that’s lighter than the air with the specs of the Pro.

I use a cheap Fujitsu. Never a great laptop to begin with, it’s beaten up from being on the road for two years. The WiFi adapter doesn’t work anymore so I bought a USB one. I have broken the screen twice, and had it changed twice, by dodgy repair shops in China.

Why do I bring all of this up? Anything you take on the road is going to be beaten to hell, and you’re likely going to need it repaired a thousand miles from the nearest Apple store. So, if you’re going to be a nomad, buy things that people use in nomad country like low-end Lenovo laptops. Dell is also a safe choice; you can also get these fixed almost anywhere. Both are a lot more durable than some delicate flower like a MacBook Air, although your expensive Mac (with a resale value of approximately 3 months’ average salary in many parts of the world) might get stolen before it breaks. Also, the keyboards on full-size laptops tend to be better to work on for long periods of time (remember, you’ll be making a living by typing–be kind to your wrists).

My advice? Buy the absolute cheapest laptop that will meet your minimum requirements right now. Choose a brand that is sold in the area where you’ll be traveling. If you haven’t become attached to it and all the memories you have together, as I have become attached to my battle-worn Fujitsu (which has been abused so badly the letters have worn off the keyboard), replace it–whether you need to or not–a year later on your next visit to the US where electronics are half the price of almost anywhere else in the world.

Love my 13" Retina MBP. Plenty of power, and the retina display provides amazing screen real estate.

Designer here and working on a MacBook Pro Retina 13" and love it.

I am in love with my Surface Pro 3.

Just a bit of background, I’m an SEO guy so a lot of my work involves se,tting up Wordpress and such. Whenever I’m not working from home, I work primarily at coffee shops. I also like going to the beach on random overnight trips, so traveling lightly is of utmost importance to me.

I’ve been an Apple guy for the longest time now, but after years of service my Macbook Pro started failing on me. I always had a difficult time traveling with the MBP just because I found it to be too heavy especially if you’re carrying around the charger, so I was planning on the Macbook Air until I saw the SP3 was about to be released.

After checking it out, I decided to go with the SP3 for several reasons:

1.) It’s powerful enough to be a laptop… it runs the full version of Windows 8.1. Perfect for me because I tend to use Photoshop quite a lot. I also like the screen-splitting feature it has which allows me to run a browser side-by-side with Word without having to Alt+Tab like crazy. I can also play games like Counterstrike and such whenever I’m taking a break.

2.) …But it makes for an excellent bedtime-companion tablet as well. at night, I simply disconnect the SP3 from the keyboard and it instantly becomes a tablet I can use to stream TV shows and movies from. Planning to buy a Miracast device of some sorts as well so I can easily stream to my TV. Apps are pretty shitty (the Windows Store has a LOOONG way to go if they want to compete with Android and Apple’s App Store in that regard) but who really needs apps when you can run the full version of programs anyway?

3.) The form factor is great. at around 2 pounds, this thing is super light. Even with the charger in the bag, I hardly notice it around my shoulders. Perfect for when I’m walking around for hours – my shoulder don’t get tired at all from carrying it. I never liked typing with a computer on my lap anyway because I don’t want to burn my thighs when the system heats up, so the adjustable kickstand is just right for me.

So yeah, there. While I don’t think I’ll be fully able to let go of the OS X environment (I still use a Mac Mini as my personal/music studio computer) I’m actually really loving the Surface and the Windows ecosystem so far. Either the Macbook Air or the Surface Pro would meet my needs really, but the lightweight form factor of the SP3 makes it the winner for me. Good luck with your choice!

I do a range of things for my day job from people and project management to web development and data analysis. For hobbies I do photography and started getting into video editing (mainly gopro footage). I’ve been running on 15" Macbook Pros for the last 6 years and upgraded recently to the newest gen with most of the bells and whistles.

I don’t always need the power, but it’s really nice to have when I’m doing lots of work with photos or videos, running VMs and/or lots of apps at once, etc.

It stays with me practically all the time (along with photo gear, etc) when I’m traveling or at home in Australia (I take it to the office and back home every day). Lots of people comment about the weight I carry around most of the time, but it works for me. When I need to go light weight I just grab my iPad Mini (with bluetooth keyboard) which is enough for lightweight working on the go (coding, social, email, etc).

You can call me web-developer. I like cross-platform stuff and open source, so most of stuff I do can be done on a Linux machine. But while picking a compact computer, I noticed that it’s pretty hard to find a decent laptop that supports all the hardware on a Linux.

MacBook Air was a good option, but I was scared that it will have heating problems (it had before). So I bought MacBook Pro 13’ - it fitted perfectly to my requirements, but it took me couple of months to get used to.

3 years later i would say that I’m happy with my pick If i had to buy new one i would look in to Dell XPS 13 or buy another MacBook Pro

I’m primarily a .NET developer but chose a Macbook Air 13" for my dev machine. I’ve got the latest model in the highest standard configuration which is more than ample for me as a developer plus it’s extremely lightweight so great for on the move.

It allows me to run a virtual windows install with Visual Studio in parallels whilst giving me the option of dropping back to Xcode for iOS/Mac development. In essence it covers off the main platforms I would develop for (plus I much prefer OS X in general use).