<p>Some friends of mine are using desktops. I think it’s dumb. I like my Macbook too much. It’s so much more practical and I prefer the Macbook mouse thing to a traditional mouse. Plus my Macbook is probably faster than their desktops.</p>
<p>The best combination is a desktop + netbook, and the best part about this combination is it will still cost less than a comparable full sized laptop, while having more power (desktop) and more portability (netbook).</p>
<p>Modern laptops are definitely powerful enough to double as desktops… I see no reason to even have one at home considering I don’t really game on the computer. Just get an external display for your room if you want a large screen to work on.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I would see what your school offers as far as computer labs go. All of our computer labs had very nice desktops for student use, and all of the film students have access to computers with editing equipment- for free!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>A TV and two laptops is different than trying to bring in a desktop. Unless I wanted to sit a desktop on the floor it just wouldn’t be possible because my desk was about the size of a nightstand! The desktop would have been on it and then that’s all, there wouldn’t have even been room for keyboard, monitors, etc. Forget any room for supplies or to do homework (there wasn’t even room for that with my laptop!). So sure, you can sacrifice between wanting room for a TV or a desktop (your roommate might hate you), but in that kind of small space you want as much room as possible to, you know, be able to move around. At least you can move a TV on a rolling stand around when you need to (we needed to more than once, lol, to make room for other stuff), but it’s frustrating to have to transport a desktop around.</p>
<p>Read my post again, two desktops, two laptops, and a 27" CRT TV. And keep in mind this was back before LCD monitors were popular, so we had two 17" fishbowl CRT monitors as well. Our desks were big enough to let us have our monitor, keyboard, mouse, and either a textbook or piece of paper on it. We both kept a TV tray that we could open up when doing homework so we could have things organized a bit more comfortably. Our room was actually exactly the width of two beds, a dresser (where the TV and Playstation sat) and a minifridge.</p>
<p>Nowadays with LCD monitors and smaller form factor desktop cases it really shouldn’t be a problem.</p>
<p>I know a few people who have desktops. They can be very useful (more space for storage, sturdier than laptops, and often larger screens). My advice would be to get a small netbook for class.</p>