We're living in a very exciting time. We have thin and light laptops like the Air, ultra high-resolution pro MacBooks, super portable iPads and now a newly redesigned iMac.

I bought a MacBook Pro in late 2008 and after an upgrade to the RAM and a solid state drive, I'm beginning to hit the wall in terms of performance once more. It's time for an upgrade.

And while I love the option for portability with my MacBook, I've noticed over the years it rarely leaves my desk, even more-so since my iPad purchase.

So does having a powerhouse desktop, like the new iMac, make sense these days?

So for those of you who design/program/edit video or audio and are considering the new retina MacBooks, I'm curious as to why? (other than portability)

Even though you said other than portability, that would have to be my top answer. It allows me to get away from my desk (if I have one) and go to a cafe or to a friends house to work.

I guess another answer is: flexibility. I'm recently out of college, so my living situations are quite unpredictable. I also keep my furniture to a minimum, so I usually use my laptop in bed.

But aside from the form factor, I love the laptop as an object — it's truly one of the most incredible things that I own. Access to everything digital in one compact package. I love my Air. I don't feel the same about an iMac: it just feels so OLD. The idea of having an all-in-one (ugh that phrase, ruined by PCs) with a keyboard and a mouse feels so 90s.

The rMBP is ever more so the object of the future. Solid state (+++++ points), no optical drive, sexy ass screen (admittedly sucks since Photoshop isn't scaled up yet).. just makes me excited when I use it.

In terms of working on the computer, the laptop displays are a bit small, but I think that's where you can get a ACD/ATD if you really need all that screen real estate.

Desktops are also a bit riskier. Kick the power cord? Power go out? You probably just lost all your work. Admittedly that doesn't happen very often.

The solid state also makes working a breeze. If you've ever used an Air as your primary work machine, you'll know that the instant-on and the speed of opening and saving large files is awesome.

When i switched to Mac last year, my dilemma was "Macbook or iMac'? I recently returned back to college so i was using a ASUS Eee PC netbook and it was ok but i was ready to make that switch. I was all set on an iMac but then i thought about commuting to school with a netbook then using an iMac at home would be awkward. I decided on the Macbook Pro 13" and i use it with 23" Hd monitor at home to get that desktop feel. This situation made the decision a lot easier for me.

I think i eventually would like an iMac or a more powerful Mac, but for now this has been an ideal situation.

I would honestly KILL.. To have a Macbook. It would genuinely make me about 200% more creative, being able to take it to the couch before bed / while watching TV.

I think about it every time I'm just chilling. I don't want to get up to write a blog post from an idea that just punched me in the brain while snoozing. I wish I could reach down, and just start typing. It's so convenient.

The ONE thing that I need, is a large monitor. OH, and the ability to use a mouse on a table. My iMac does the job with the monitor and mouse obviously.

But to be productive with the laptop in some of my trades like video and audio editing, I'd need that larger screen space. 20-23" is ideal. And without a mouse, how can I use Photoshop? It would be hell.

Forgot to mention, that most Laptops, Apple and Windows, carry more than enough power to do most of these tasks at an intermediate level. Professionally rendering 400GB of video, etc.. I don't think so, if you're NOT converting film or shooting 5K, you're fine.

But mostly, there's no need for MORE power in laptops today.

I have to agree with Julius & Icy. The portability feature may not seem apparently valuable day to day when owning it, but if you opted for an iMac, I think you would be kicking yourself down the line.

I can't imagine you needing a hugely powerful machine as a designer/developer but I don't know your needs and I'm just assuming. As a designer/developer myself I've been extremely happy with the late 2011 low-end 13" MacBook Air and use it in conjunction with an external monitor if required. For my web design and development needs though, I've never had any performance issues and the weight of the device is ideal.

Whatever you do, just ensure you get a SSD.

@Josh -- I've never had SSD.. They're faster, that's about it correct? My iMac (which is still from 2007 w/ the same HD non SSD) has ridiculous speeds surprisingly.

I had never wanted an SSD before. I was always happy with a 250GB standard hard drive and moderately powered PC (I still would be to be fair), but comparing the speed at which it handles large files when using applications such as Adobe Fireworks, the difference is fairly apparent to me. The boot times are also very nice. I don't think I could go back to a standard HD now.

@Josh -- I'm just not sure if for the price... It's worth it versus a ton of gigs more for less vs same price ya know?

I'll have to TRY one out or something first.

@Julius - You're right, portability is a huge thing. That's where my iPad comes into play though. I love the form factor of the Air, I think the 11" Air is amazing. If I was going to buy a laptop, that would be it. I hate being in an airport and carrying around a heavy laptop.
Regarding SSD, you can equip an iMac with an SSD, so that's not really an issue. I also mentioned that I swapped my 2008 MacBook Pro's HDD with a SSD and it's impossible for me to go back to anything else.

@Icy - Your living situation makes more sense to have a portable computer for school. Any student should have a laptop. That just makes sense.

@Zakk - You scare me.

@Wesley -- Scurred? :( Why?

The capacity issue can be a deal breaker for many. I tend to keep all my work and media on an small passport sized external HDD with some work I access regularly in the cloud. The size of the external drive also lets me take it on travels if needed. I primarily just keep my laptop hard drive for applications and the OS, but I'm very much a clean/speed freak when it comes to technology.

If one was to produce a lot of visual assets, one may say go HDD for capacity, but at the same time the performance gains for me at least, outweigh the capacity benefits of a HDD.

@Josh - I agree with your portability comments. The only issue I have with the ext. monitor thing is when my MacBook is plugged into my ext. monitor and I want to grab it and go somewhere else, I have to unplug the monitor & cables (which messes up my workflow, going from a high-res to a lower-res screen. Windows are all over the place, previously organized desktop icons are moved all over the place). Once I get to the coffee shop, there's barely enough space on the table for my Mac, drink + arm resting room.

This is where iPad comes in. I love working at my desk, then grabbing my iPad, going to the coffee shop and comfortably working. If I need to access my desktop, I use an awesome VNC client called Screens (screensapp.com).

@Josh - HDD space is a big issue for me as well. I'm currently doing the passport-sized drive for my Photos, and even though it's over firewire, it's still painfully slow to work with.

@Everyone - In general, I've come to learn that a work/life balance is important. My desk is for work. I don't need to take my laptop with me everywhere and feel the need to work. If I want to write a post for a blog, or browse the web, I can comfortably do that on my iPad. If I need to access my laptop, I VNC in.

The whole idea is not being tied to a single device. The iMac works amazingly well as a high-performance desktop, this is where I'll be doing most of my work. The iPad is for casual work or enjoyment. The iPhone is for quick communication.

Have any of you looked into this Fusion drive Apple is switching to?

And to show I'm not without concern regarding portability, imagine this setup:

- iMac 27", for the majority of your work
- MacBook Air 11" (base model), for traveling and portability (the TSA doesn't require you to remove your Air/iPad from your bags at the airport)
- iPad or iPad Mini (perhaps next gen. version)

I'd argue that this configuration is idea for anyone and covers any need you possibly could have. What matters here comfort, portability and performance.

@Icy -- Ya, just means the OS is stored on the Flash Storage portion while all other files are placed on the HD.. All one volume.

@Icy - Check this out: macobserver.com

@Zakk & @Wesley Thank you.

@Wesley Friend Many many thanks!

More on the fusion drive: support.apple.com

here in China Mainland, Macbook is more popular than iMac. Most of the users of iMac are professional designers or something.