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I get that companies standardize on hardware, but I figured that a happy employee is a good employee.
So I simply asked my employee if he had any specific wishes for a laptop, especially since he's allowed to use it privately as well, gave him a budget for a good laptop (which is about €1700) and told him he could order a more expensive one as well, but if it got too expensive we'd have to talk money.
The only condition was that it had to be Windows because his job would be to write Windows applications (more and more multi-platform, but, unfortunately, still some .NET Framework and even WinForms as well).
He ordered some HP flipbook he wanted toghether with a mechinal keyboard that's got me frustrated every time I have to help him with some code.
All in all that cost me about €200 extra, but let's say he wanted some gaming laptop and it cost me €1200 extra.
That's €1200 for a happy employee, an absolute bargain!
I think happy employees are worth a lot more than standardized hardware.
He's not only happy because he has the laptop he wanted, but also because I took his wishes into consideration.
I know from my time as an employee that's pretty rare, yet it goes a looooong way in employee happiness!
The same applies to a company car, work hours, work from home, study courses, etc.
Of course there's a limit, especially when the employee already makes a lot of money, but don't be too greedy when it comes to employees.
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You would be a great guy to work for, Sander, and I agree on all points.
Will Rogers never met me.
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Thanks, doing my best! 
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My real problem with them is keyboards - they are so small, so cramped - and the travel is so short they have no "feel".
And don't get me started on "touchpads"!
I have a Surface, and it works pretty well - but if you crank up the brightness to see well in sunshine, the battery life drops significantly.
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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OriginalGriff wrote: My real problem with them is keyboards - they are so small, so cramped
That's where docking stations come into play.
My laptop sits on a docking station and I have (2) 27" monitors plugged into the docking station, including standard wired keyboard and wired mouse. I usually set the left monitor to be my default.
I work from home.
If I have to travel, just un-dock the laptop, put into travel bag, and on my way.
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OriginalGriff wrote: My real problem with them is keyboards - they are so small, so cramped - and the travel is so short they have no "feel".
And don't get me started on "touchpads"!
If only there was a convenient way to plug a mouse and a keyboard into a laptop... 
OriginalGriff wrote: but if you crank up the brightness to see well in sunshine, the battery life drops significantly.
Don't phones have the same problem?
It's pretty simple, you can't win a brightness battle with the sun. Just don't try to do work on a laptop out in the sun.
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Yes, touchpads... utterly useless waste of space, but what other option is there? I'm out in a yard full of solar panels, sitting on crushed rock in the bright sun, and can't seem to find a flat spot for the mouse. Is there no display technology that is useful in daylight?
Will Rogers never met me.
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Why don'T you buy one of these[^]?
It would give you shadow for the screen  
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Quote: Protection Headwear Fishing Umbrella Cap
The premise must be that the fish have their mouths open due to the riotous laughter after getting a look at that thing, and you merely drop your lure in there and hook them. Genius!
"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
"I don't drink any more... then again, I don't drink any less." - Mike Mullikins uncle
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you ask for 2 conflicting requirements.
performance and portability; you can't have both. (well, maybe the MacBook Pro m2 max)
and display all suck in daylight (heck, even regular monitors suck in daylight).
CI/CD = Continuous Impediment/Continuous Despair
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If you have any sort of connectivity out in the field, remote into your real work system that does all the heavy lifting. That'll address the lousy performance. Which frankly I could debate, I know people with gaming laptops that could run circles around the fastest machine I own.
But my main point is, you don't need a lot of horsepower locally if all you're doing is running RDP. Then carry around whatever extra hardware you're willing to bring with you.
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You haven't said anything about how you're using them. Maybe you should be voice dictating / commanding instead of typing. Or using augmented reality to "see" differently.
"Before entering on an understanding, I have meditated for a long time, and have foreseen what might happen. It is not genius which reveals to me suddenly, secretly, what I have to say or to do in a circumstance unexpected by other people; it is reflection, it is meditation." - Napoleon I
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I'm sitting on crushed rock in bright sun - no shade except that under the solar panels - trying to make the equipment out there communicate with the remote generators. The rocks scope out at 147° and the shade is 100° and the brightness level is so high that the screen is unreadable. Your AR suggestion is worth exploring - thanks!
Will Rogers never met me.
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There used to be monitors as glasses. Some of those and a very large-brimmed hat. (?)(Sombrero)
You might also be able to find a slatted cover that can fight over your display (it would have to be removable in order to close the laptop)
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Or one of these[^]
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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That would work great until the wind came up!
Will Rogers never met me.
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Didn’t you notice the chin strap?
Might need a waiver from your chiropractor!
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There you go. I have a Hololens (version I). I added a bluetooth keyboard and mouse and can dink about while sitting on the sofa in front of the TV.
There is an (improved) Hololens II targeting the U.S. military that should help the commercial version at some point.
"Before entering on an understanding, I have meditated for a long time, and have foreseen what might happen. It is not genius which reveals to me suddenly, secretly, what I have to say or to do in a circumstance unexpected by other people; it is reflection, it is meditation." - Napoleon I
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Sounds like you need a laptop or tablet with an "e paper" display like the Amazon Kindle, which can be read in full sunlight. There are a number of larger format eReaders out there, but I couldn't find a general-purpose computing device. You might look for an e paper monitor that can connect to a laptop.
Software Zen: delete this;
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I'll try, but I haven't seen one yet. What would be better is if whoever designed this hardware had thought to include shelter for whoever has to service it in the future! As soon as this project is sold off, I plan to propose that change!
Will Rogers never met me.
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It sounds like they need a shaded engineer's station. Basically an open box (say, a 2'x2'x2' cube) with the floor at working height (sit the laptop there), power, and connectors to the bits and pieces you need the laptop to talk too. Open the door, sit the laptop inside, connect, and Bob's your uncle.
Software Zen: delete this;
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Great idea! And I can build that fairly easily.
Will Rogers never met me.
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Roger Wright wrote: I hate them, but I'm being forced to use them more often, especially in the field.
I feel your pain! Today I'm working in a remote office on my laptop. My issues:
0: I keep hitting the touchpad with palms/thumbs and moving the cursor/selection!
1: I have to remember to use the Fn key if I want to use a function key!
2: Single monitor (you really miss extra monitors when you don't have them)
3: Keyboard is OK, but not great.
Other than that, this 8 y/o HP actually performs better than my current desktop system...I may be doing something about that soon.
I do realize there is a fix for #1, I just can't ever remember to do it!
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
"Hope is contagious"
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kmoorevs wrote: 1: I have to remember to use the Fn key if I want to use a function key!
Should be possible to switch it in the BIOS
Or..
try "Shift+FN" (it should remain even after rebooting)
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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